Italian Restaurant Dublin. LaCaverna, Temple Bar

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Italian recipe for lasagne

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Italian lasagne recipe

La Caverna Restaurant and Wine Bar's lasagne recipe included in the Dublin Cookbook

Ingredients for the bolognese sauce

· • 2 medium onions

· • 2 cloves of garlic

· • 2 carrots

· • 2 sticks of celery

· • olive oil

· • 2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano

· • 2000g good-quality lean minced beef

· • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes / 200g tomatoes puree

· • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

· • a small bunch of fresh basil

· for the lasagne

· • 350g dried egg lasagne sheets

· • 1 large coupe of red cooking wine

· for the white sauce

· • ½ a small onion

· • 800ml semi-skimmed milk

· • a sprig of fresh parsley

· • a pinch of nutmeg

· • a pinch of white pepper

· • optional: 1 bay leaf

· • 100g butter

· • 150g plain flour

· • 150g of grated Parmesan cheese /250g of grated mozzarella cheese

· • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the bolognese sauce
• Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery – don’t worry about technique but try and make all the veg a similar size
• Place a large saucepan on a medium to high heat

• Add 2 lugs of and add the veg to the pan
• Stir occasionally for around 10 minutes, or until softened and lightly coloured then stir in the minced meat and the tinned tomatoes and tomatoes puree

• Fill one of the empty tins with water and add to the pan
• Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper
• Pick the basil leaves and place in the fridge for later

For the lasagne pasta

• Warm the wine and pour it into a large pan, then add your lasagne sheets with a drizzle of oil and blanch (slightly soften) for 3 to 4 minutes making sure they don’t stick together – cook them in batches if necessary
• Drain the sheets in a colander and carefully
• Pat them dry with some kitchen paper to absorb any excess water – leave to one side until you’re ready to build the lasagne

For the white sauce

• Peel and slice half an onion
• Add the onion, milk, parsley, white peppercorns and bay leaf (if using) to a pan on a medium heat and gently bring to the boil – keep a close eye on it as milk can boil suddenly
• Strain the milk through a sieve, discarding anything left behind

• Melt the butter in another pan on a medium-low heat
• Mix in the flour
• Start adding the strained milk, a ladleful at a time, stirring each lot in before adding more

• When you have a smooth white sauce, bring the whole lot to the boil then simmer for a couple of minutes
• Take off the heat and finely grate in most of the Parmesan cheese
• Mix well then season with a pinch of salt and pepper

To finish the bolognese sauce

• Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5
• Remove the Bolognese sauce from the heat, then tear and stir in any larger basil leaves, keeping the smaller ones aside for later
• Have a taste of the sauce, and season with a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it

To make the lasagna

• Spoon a third of your Bolognese sauce into the bottom of an earthenware ovenproof dish (approximately 25cm by 35cm)
• Follow with a layer of lasagne sheets and another third of your Bolognese sauce, then spoon over a third of your white sauce ,sprinkle mozzarella cheese
• Top with another layer of lasagne sheets

• Spoon over the rest of the Bolognese sauce and another third of the white sauces do sprinkle mozzarella cheese
• Finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets and top with the rest of the white sauce and finely grate over the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
• Top with some slices of tomato, scatter over the small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil

• Cover with foil, place in the preheated oven and bake for 60minutes
• After that, remove the foil and cook for a further 30minutes in a lower temperature until the lasagne is bubbling and golden
• Serve on the table with a fresh green salad and let everyone help themselves