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Slow-cooked Lamb Shoulder Lasagna

A must-try recipe from Gizzi Erskine. This slow cooked lamb shoulder lasagna features red wine, rich vegetables and a mozzarella topping. Pure comfort food!

From the book

Introduction

Lasagna fan? You might want to try this.

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Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
800g (1¾lb) lamb shoulder meat, cubed
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 bay leaves
A few fresh thyme and parsley sprigs, chopped
1 fresh rosemary sprig, leaves chopped
Fresh basil leaves, torn
400ml (14fl oz) red or white wine
400ml (14fl oz) beef or veal stock
400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
500g (1lb) fresh lasagna sheets
For the white sauce:
40g (1½oz) butter
40g (1½oz) plain flour
400ml (14fl oz) milk
2 medium-sized balls mozzarella, chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg
100g (4oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Essential kit

You will need a large lasagna dish.

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 2. Place the oil in a large casserole over a medium heat. Add the meat in batches and fry until it is nicely golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the heat and throw in the onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and gone slightly golden. Add the garlic for the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute. Add the herbs, wine, stock and tomatoes. Return the meat and all its juices to the pan. Give it a good stir, then cover and place in the oven.You want the meat to be really soft and the sauce to thicken and become rich. After 2 hours remove the casserole from the oven and leave it to rest for 10 minutes, then go to the meat with two forks and shred it to bits. The meat should break up as you squish it a little with the back of a wooden spoon.

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a pan over a low to medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and gradually whisk in the milk, little by little, stirring like crazy until combined and smooth. Stir in the chopped mozzarella and a few gratings of fresh nutmeg. Season to taste and set aside.

Drop the lasagna sheets into a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute then drain them. Drizzle some olive oil on to the sheets to keep them separate. To build the lasagna, spread a layer of meat sauce over the bottom of a large lasagna dish. Spoon over a little of the white sauce. (The ratio should be about two-thirds meat to one-third white sauce.) Repeat 3 or 4 times, depending on the size of the dish, then spoon over the remaining white sauce to cover completely. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake for 45–50 minutes until the top is golden.

 

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From the book: My Kitchen Table: 100 Foolproof Suppers

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