This is, according to Dave, the best lasagne that he’s ever tasted. And as Dave has cheerfully munched his way through almost as much lasagne as Joey from Friends, I’m taking his word for it! It’s not an authentic lasagne as it uses a bechamel (white) sauce instead of ricotta or mozarella cheese, but it certainly tastes great!

Making the lasagne is very easy if you have some ragu sauce on hand, as I did. I’d made a huge vat of my ragu bolognese the previous day, and as I’m rapidly running out of freezer space I decided to make lasagne with the rest rather than trying to squeeze anything else into the freezer. If you don’t have any sauce handy, then it will be much more of a production to make… It will be worth it though!

Best-Ever Lasagne

Makes 6 portions

Ragu Bolognese sauce, approx six portions
60g unsalted butter
60g plain flour
600ml milk
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
fresh nutmeg, approx 1/4 teaspoon grated
90g fresh parmesan cheese, grated
about 10 sheets dried lasagne sheets (this will depend on the size of your dish)

Preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4.

Place the milk, bay leaves, onion and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and slowly bring to simmering point. Turn off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease your baking dish (I used a 25×25cm Pyrex dish) and grate the cheese. Cover the cheese and set aside. Place the ragu sauce in a large saucepan and thin with some water to give a slightly soupy consistency. You don’t want the sauce to be very runny, but there has to be sufficient moisture to allow the lasagne sheets to cook through properly. Heat through until simmering. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook, stirring for a minute until a blond roux (paste) is made. Strain the milk into a jug and gradually stir it into the roux to make a thick smooth sauce. Season to taste.

Pour some bechamel into the baking dish – enough to just cover the base. Place a layer of lasagne sheets on top, followed by a layer of ragu, another layer of bechamel and a good handful of parmesan. Continue with two or three more layers until both sauces are used up. Add a final sprinkling of parmesan.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling all over and a knife slips through the layers of lasagne easily.