Cooking Club Classics #1: Dizzyblonde's Lasagna

I usually make a big lasagna and freeze portions in foil cartons. This one makes 8 big portions.
Today I used half beef, half pork which I think gives a nice texture and flavour but I often use all beef too.
*If you're making a normal sized lasagna, halve the amount of everything except tinned tomatoes/sugar/balsamic vinegar. Use 2 tins of tomatoes and 2 tsps each of sugar and balsamic.

Meat sauce:
2 rashers, snipped or chopped into little pieces
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
2 carrots, grated (I find diced carrot doesn't cook well in tomato based sauces)
5 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
500g lean minced beef
500g minced pork
3 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsps tomato puree
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsps dried oregano
2 tsps dried basil
Salt & black pepper
Olive oil

Cheese sauce:
85g/3oz butter
85g/3oz plain flour
500ml/1pt milk
2 handfuls of grated cheddar cheese

Dried pasta sheets.
Grated parmesan for the top

Meat sauce:
Put a little olive oil in a large pot or sauté pan and fry the bacon pieces until slightly crisp. Add the carrot, onion and celery and fry gently until they start to soften. Add the garlic and after a minute, turn up the heat and add the meat. Break it up with a wooden spoon or dough masher while it seals on the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste with salt & black pepper. Stir well, partly cover and simmer gently for a couple of hours.

*While you make the cheese sauce, soak your lasagna sheets in cold water and they will cook through better. Someone posted that tip last year and it makes a huge difference.

Cheese sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in the milk then bring to the boil while still whisking. Turn down the heat and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly. Add grated cheddar until it tastes cheesy enough for you.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

To assemble - start with a layer of meat, then pasta, then a thin coating of cheese sauce and repeat these steps until you've no meat sauce left. Finish with a layer of pasta sheets. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes, but check it after 30 minutes and if it's browned enough cover with tinfoil.
I like to let it rest for about 30 minutes before cutting, it makes it easier to serve.







Edit: It seems the 'pork' mince I defrosted for this was actually turkey
Still tasted great though!