English food writer and chef Mary Berry is the go-to person when it comes to quick and delicious meal preparation. Craving some lasagna? Here’s how to perfect it.
There’s no better feeling than coming home after a long day at work with some freshly made and hot home-cooked dinner. Lasagne is the perfect dish to make over the weekend when you have more time to cook, and if there are any leftovers, they can be kept in the fridge or even in the freezer for future meals.
However, if the pasta layers in the lasagne are a bit chewy and hard in places, don’t panic, Mary Berry has the solution. The celebrity chef has been in the spotlight for decades, and has written over 70 cookbooks. She first showcased her lasagne recipe on TV in the 70s when she used dropping to fry the meat and vegetables, The Mirror reported.
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She still recommends using this method if you want a “really meaty flavour,” but she recognises that using olive oil makes it healthier. For the best results, she suggests leaving it to set up for up to six hours before stuffing yourself.
There’s one area where Mary suggested chefs be especially careful if they want satisfying and delicious soft pasta layers. Following her exquisite recipe, which involves letting the finished dish rest for six hours after preparing and before cooking, Mary said that you won’t have to pre-cook your pasta sheets. By allowing the dish to rest, the sheets will be cooked to perfection.
But if you don’t have enough time to wait or prefer more pasta to sauce, the chef advises pre-cooking the sheets so they don’t become chewy or using fresh pasta.
Mary Berry’s ‘perfect’ lasagne recipe
Ingredients
For the ragu:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 900g/2lb beef mince
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 4 sticks of celery
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 150ml or ¼ pint beef stock
- 1 tbsp red currant jelly or 1 tsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
For the white sauce:
- 50g/2oz butter
- 50g/2oz plain flour
- 750ml/1¼ pints hot milk
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 50g/2oz Parmesan, finely grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lasagne:
- 12 lasagne sheets
- 75g/3oz mature cheddar, grated
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While you prepare the ragu, preheat the oven to 160 °c/140 °c Fan/Gas 3. Heat a large frying pan until it’s hot and add the oil. Then, cook the mince until it’s brown. Remove it from the heat and transfer it to a plate.
Add the onion, garlic, and celery (if using) to the pan and cook until they become soft. Then, add the cooked mince to the pan and stir in the flour before adding the stock – bring to a boil.
Later on, add the redcurrant jelly or the sugar, tomato purée and thyme, mixing them well. Sit in the tinned tomatoes to boil. Cover it, allowing it to simmer for 1.5 hours in the oven or until the meat becomes tender.
For the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, adding the flour. Cook over the heat for a minute before gradually whisking it until a thick sauce is formed. Follow by adding some Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese, seasoning it with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Making the lasagne, put one third of the meat sauce in the base of a 1.3 liter shallow waterproof dish. Then, a third spoon of the white sauce on top of the meat, seasoning it with salt and pepper, and then adding a layer of lasagne sheets on top. Lastly, add another layer of pasta sheets, followed by the rest of the white sauce, sprinkling some cheese on top.
Let the lasagne marinate before pre-heating the oven to 200C Fan/Gas 6, and then let it cook in the oven for 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Once ready, cover with foil for the first 30 minutes and uncover for the last 15 to make sure that the dish is soft on the inside but crispy on the outside.