Serves 6

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls of fresh herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme)
Olive oil
600g lean minced beef
2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes

2 glasses of red wine or water
2 bay leaves
1 butternut squash, peeled, halved, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 dried red chilli, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g fresh or dried wholemeal lasagne sheets
400g mozzarella, torn up

For the Béchamel sauce

500ml low-fat milk

15g butter

15g plain flour

Methods

  1. Preheat the oven to 2000°C/Fan 180°C/gas 4.

  2. In a large saucepan, heat about 4 tablespoons of oil, and then add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs. Mix together, then add the beef and pork and cook for about 5 minutes.

  3. Add the tinned tomatoes, the wine or water and the bay leaves and bring to the boil.

  4. Wet a piece of greaseproof paper large enough to cover the saucepan and place it on top of the pan with a lid placed on top of the paper. Allow to simmer on the hob over a gentle heat for around 1½ hours.

  5. Rub the butternut squash slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and the crushed coriander seeds and chilli. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the sauce. When the sauce is done, season to taste and leave aside.

  6. Meanwhile, prepare the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat then add the flour and stir together to form a thick paste. This is called a roux and can be used to thicken any sauce.

  7. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the milk to the roux, whisking continuously until the sauce is lump free. Return the pan to a gentle heat and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring continuously until the sauce has thickened. Season with black pepper.

  8. To assemble the lasagne, grease a lasagne dish with olive oil or butter. Lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom, add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Break the butternut squash into pieces and use this as the next layer, then repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce. Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan.

  9. Cook in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes until golden. Serve with a green salad.