Hearty Beef Lasagne with Pecorino Cream
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen.
A generous beef lasagne for a crowd, with a tender beef and tomato sauce and a pecorino cream in place of béchamel.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
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Equipment
- large flameproof casserole
- rimmed baking sheet
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- 23 x 33 cm baking dish
- foil
- baking tray (to catch drips)
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 475 kcal |
| Protein | 28.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 33 g |
| of which sugars | 5.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 25.3 g |
| of which saturates | 13.5 g |
| Fibre | 2.7 g |
| Salt | 1.62 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
6 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 12 servings
Pasta
- 17 dried lasagne sheets (curly-edged if you can find them)
Pasta water
- 20 g fine salt for 4 litres of pasta water (0.5%) about 3¼ tsp; most of it goes down the drain
Meat sauce
- 2 slices white bread, torn small
- 4 tbsp milk
- 680 g lean beef mince (10% fat)
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt about ½ tsp
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 800 g tin crushed tomatoes
Cream sauce
- 225 g cottage cheese
- 90 g pecorino, finely grated
- 240 ml double cream
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Topping
- 340 g mozzarella, grated
- 20 g pecorino, grated
- 1
Boil the sheets. Heat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan) and oil the baking sheet and the dish. Boil the sheets in 4 litres salted water until al dente, drain, lay them on the oiled sheet and turn to coat so they do not stick. Cut 2 in half.
- 2
Panade. Mash the bread and milk to a paste, then knead in the beef, salt and pepper. The soaked bread keeps the meat tender through the long bake.
- 3
Meat sauce. Heat the oil in the empty pot over medium heat, cook the onion 5 min, add the garlic, oregano and chilli for 1 min, then the beef, breaking it small, for about 4 min until no longer pink. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer 5 min.
- 4
Cream sauce. Whisk the cottage cheese, pecorino, cream, garlic, cornflour and pepper together. The cornflour stops it turning greasy in the oven.
- 5
Layer. Lay 3 sheets lengthways in the dish with a half sheet to fill the gap. Spread over about 360 ml meat sauce, 120 ml cream sauce and 60 g mozzarella. Repeat 3 more times, moving the half sheet to the other end each time, then top with the last 3 sheets, the rest of the cream sauce and mozzarella, and the pecorino.
- 6
Bake. Cover with oiled foil, set on the baking tray and bake 30 min. Uncover and bake 25-30 min more until spotty brown and 74 °C in the centre. Rest 30 min before slicing.
Storage
Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 3 days, or freeze portions for up to 2 months. Reheat covered in a 180 °C oven until piping hot (74 °C) in the centre.
