Beef and Creamy Béchamel Lasagne

Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. 

Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Trim the carrot, then coarsely grate (no need to peel). Trim the courgette, then coarsely grate.

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil.

Once hot, add the carrot and courgette and season with salt. Stir-fry until the veg have cooked down and softened, 8-12 mins. Adjust the heat if needed.

While the veg cooks, melt the butter (see pantry for amount) in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.

Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour (see pantry for amount). Cook, stirring, until it forms a paste, 1-2 mins - you've made a roux!

Gradually stir in the water for the sauce (see pantry for amount). Bring to the boil, stir and simmer until thickened, 1-2 mins. Season with salt.

Stir in the creme fraiche and half the hard Italian style cheese until the cheese has melted, 1-2 mins. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat. Set aside for later.

Hide the Veg: Once cooked, add the veg to a blender along with the passata. Blitz until smooth. If you don't have a blender, set the veg aside in a small bowl and add to the mince once browned in the next step.

Next, return the (now empty) frying pan to medium-high heat (no oil). 

Once hot, add the beef mince. Fry until the mince has browned, 5-6 mins. Use a spoon to break it up as it cooks.

When the mince has browned, drain and discard any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper. IMPORTANT: Wash your hands and equipment after handling raw mince. It's cooked when no longer pink in the middle.

Once browned, add the garlic to the mince and fry until fragrant, 1 min.

Stir in the blended veg and passata sauce, red wine stock paste, sugar and water for the ragu (see pantry for both amounts). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, 5-6 mins.

Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat. Taste and season with more salt, pepper and sugar if you feel it needs it.

When the sauces are ready, in an appropriately sized ovenproof dish, spread a third of the ragu sauce in an even layer. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, then a layer of the cheese sauce.

Repeat until you have three layers of ragu, lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Finish with the remaining hard Italian style cheese on top.

Pop on the middle shelf of your oven and bake until golden and bubbling, 25-30 mins.

Once ready, share your lasagne between your plates.