This is not an authentic ‘Lasagne Bolognese.’

This lasagne would have Marcella Hazan kneeling before the altar and asking the patron saint of pasta to strike me down.

This is lasagne the way an Aussie bloke would make it.

So why drag poor Gina Lollobrgida into this?

Well, she’s always struck me as a ‘made for t.v.’ version of Sophia Loren. If the budget is smaller, if the audience is less discerning or if the performance needs to be just a little over the top, then most producers would settle for Gina over Sophia.

In much the same way, most blokes would opt for the meatier, cheesier, stodgier lasagna that this recipe wields over the finesse of silky sheets of homemade pasta layered with the thinnest streaks of heirloom bolognese sauce and bechemal.

Every layer in this lasagna announces itself with exclamation marks; meat sauce! spinach & ricotta! more meat sauce!! still more spinach and ricotta!! bechamel and a four cheese crust!!!

Each layer requires a little effort, but I have streamlined things as much as possible where modern supermarket conveniences allow. I use no-boil pasta sheets and pre-grated bags of cheese. But I recommend making the bolognese sauce 2 days ahead and them compiling the lasagna a day ahead. This breaks the effort down into bite-size chores.

The Goods:

1-2 packages of no-boil lasagne sheets
Bolognese sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 lb (1.5 kg) ground / mince meat. Lean beef and / or pork
1 1/2 large onions peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic peeled and finely diced
2-3 small carrots, peeled and finely diced.
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
2 cups beef stock (canned is fine, low sodium preferable)
1 porcini stock cube (if available)
2 cups dry red wine
26 lf oz / 750g bottle or can Passata or strained tomatoes
1 6oz / 170g can tomato paste
pinch of herbs (choose from sage, thyme, oregano and nutmeg)
handful fresh parsley, chopped
old parmesan rind (if you have one)
1 tspn paprika
1 tspn cayenne or chili
salt , pepper
1 tspn sugar
2-3 tblspn milk or cream

Spinach and Ricotta:
24 oz / 750g fresh ricotta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 oz 55 g grated parmesan
4 oz / 110g grated mozzarella
salt , pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
pinch chili flakes (optional)
1 16oz / 450g bag frozen spinach, thawed.

Bechamel sauce:
2 oz / 55g butter
2 tblspns flour
2 cups warm milk (or 1 cup milk, 1 cup cream)
up to 3 cups of grated mixed cheese (one of those bags of pre-grated mozzarella, cheddar / quatro formaggio mixes from the supermarket)
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Total active time: 1 1/2 hrs

You will need:

• large pot or skillet for sauce
• large baking dish large mixing bowl for ricotta
• small saucepan for bechemal cheese grater
• aluminium foil

The Sauce:

I usually make my bolognese sauce with lean beef and pork. You could go a step further and mix in some veal, or you could just stick with beef.

For every 1 pound / 450g of meat, I use 1 clove of garlic and 1/2 an onion. This recipe uses 3 pounds of meat and you will have enough spare to freeze and use for a pasta bolognese later.

Heat the beef stock in the microwave for a minute or so, add the dried mushrooms (and the porcini stock cube, if using) and set aside.

Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet or pot.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and stir around so that they soften and turn opaque. About 3-4 mins. Do not let them burn or brown.

Add the carrot and stir. Cook a further 2 minutes.Raise the heat under the pan.

Add the meat and brown it all over, chopping any large clumps with a wooden spoon. If you have used a nice lean meat, you will not need to drain any fat from the meat, but if there is an excess in the pan then try blotting it out with some paper towel or draining it.

Add the red wine and bring it to a simmer.Then add the strained tomato sauce (passata) and beef stock. Chop the soaked mushrooms and add them too. Then add the tomato paste, herbs, bay leaves, parmesan rind (if using), paprika and cayenne.

Simmer over a low heat…so that the surface gently bubbles… for about 40 minutes.The sauce needs to reduce. Make sure that none of the meat or vegetables are catching on the bottom of the pan.

Taste and add salt and pepper and, if needed some sugar.

Finally add a couple of tablespoons of cream or milk and stir through. Remove from heat and cool. Fish out the bay leaves and parmesan rind and discard them. Chill overnight and, if you like, skim any fat from the surface before using.

Ricotta and Spinach:

The most important detail here is drainage. Frozen spinach needs to be thawed and have all of the extra water drawn from it. I usually empty a bag of thawed spinach into the centre of a dish towel, I bundle it up and wring it tight and let all of the water drain out of it.

Ricotta also needs to have any water skimmed off it. It is often sold in little strainers so that the water is easily poured off it.

You can mix the spinach and ricotta together, but I like the colour contrast of leaving them separate.

Mix the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and (if using) chili flakes by hand until they are all combined.

Bechemal

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and when it is foaming, add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes.

Add the warm milk and stir, bringing the liquid to a simmer. It will thicken, stir frequently to make sure that lumps don’t form. Add freshly ground pepper and grated nutmeg, then add the parmesan and a couple of handfuls of the mixed grated cheese. Stir to combine and , when the cheeses have melted, taste. Add a little salt if necessary.

Putting it together:

Pour about 1 cup of bolognese sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish (those disposable foil ones from the supermarket are great; no washing up later!). Add about 1/4 cup water to the sauce to thin it out and spread it across the bottom of the pan.

Place a single layer of pasta sheets over the sauce, sufficient to cover the bottom of the pan. Break some sheets of pasta in half if neccessary to make a solid layer of pasta.

Add about 3 cups of bolognese sauce and spread it evenly over the pasta sheets.

Place another layer of pasta sheets to cover the bolognese sauce.

Add half of the spinach over the pasta and then cover it with half of the ricotta mixture.

Place another layer of pasta sheets to cover the ricotta.

Repeat with another layer of bolognese, pasta, ricotta and then pasta.

Pour the bechemal sauce over the top layer of pasta, spreading it all the way to the sides. Top with grated cheese and bake in a medium oven (375f / 190c) for about 1 hour or until the top is bubbly, crispy and golden.

I usually make the pasta sauce ahead, then mix the ricotta and bechemal on the day that I compile the lasagna. If you are not baking it on the same day, then I would use the bolognese sauce at fridge temp, the ricotta nice and cool and I would let the bechemal cool before spreading it. Top with the cheese, cover with foil and then refridgerate. If the bechamel is hot and the meat sauce is cold and you aren’t going to bake it and eat it right away then you could be courting some food poisining by mixing temperatures. Also, bring the lasagna pan out of the fridge at least an hour before baking so that it is at room temperature going into the oven.

Serve with salad, garlic bread, a solid bottle of red wine and plenty of Dean Martin!