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deep dish roasted garlic lasagane
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Roasted Garlic Lasagne (Deep Dish)

This deep dish roasted garlic lasagne is the ultimate comfort food! There's a rich ragù bolognese, a punchy roasted garlic bechamel, homemade lasagne sheets & plenty of cheese.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time6 hours
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • 9"x13" Baking Tin
  • Food Processor
  • Pasta Machine
  • Large Saucepan
  • Cheese Grater
  • Stick Blender
  • Microplane
  • Rolling Pin
  • Digital Food Probe

Ingredients

 Ragù Bolognese

  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 500 g Beef Mince
  • 500 g Pork Mince
  • 250 g Smoked Pancetta (Or Streaky Bacon)
  • 2 White Onions (Peeled & Finely Diced)
  • 3 Large Carrots (Peeled & Finely Diced)
  • 4 Sticks Of Celery (Finely Diced)
  • 6 Garlic Cloves (Grated)
  • 2 tsp Finely Chopped Rosemary
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 400 ml Red Wine
  • 800 g Tinned Tomatoes (2 Tins - See Notes)
  • 2 Beef Stock Cubes
  • 250 ml Whole Milk
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Pasta Dough

  • 400 g 00 Flour (See Notes)
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • Semolina (For Dusting The Pasta Sheets)

Roasted Garlic Bechamel

  • 2 Bulbs Of Garlic
  • 100 g Unsalted Butter
  • 100 g Plain Flour
  • 1 Litre Whole Milk
  • 300 ml Chicken Stock
  • 100 g Parmesan (Grated)
  • Nutmeg (Grated)

To Assemble

  • 400 g Low Moisture Mozzarella (Freeze For 30 Minutes Before Using)
  • 50 g Parmesan

Instructions

 Ragù Bolognese

  • Set a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, leave to heat up for a minute or so then add in the diced pancetta. Fry, stirring regularly until crisp & golden then use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a bowl.
    Leave the rendered fat in the pan!
  • Add the beef mince into the pan then fry, stirring frequently until well browned. This will take 5-10 minutes. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer the mince to the pancetta bowl, leaving any fat in the pan. Repeat the browning process with the pork mince, transferring it to the bowl once browned as well.
  • Turn the heat down to medium then add in the diced onion, carrot & celery. Season with a pinch of salt then cook for 4-5 minutes, until soft, stirring frequently. Stir in the grated garlic & chopped rosemary then cook for another minute.
  • Add in the tomato paste then cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring almost constantly then stir the mince & pancetta back in.
    Cook the tomato paste until it darkens in colour. This caramelises it, adding extra flavour to our sauce.
  • Pour in the red wine, deglaze the pan then cook for 3-4 minutes, until almost completely reduced.
    To deglaze the pan, scrape the bottom with a spatula/wooden spoon to release any browned bits that are stuck on.
  • Add in the tinned tomatoes & the stock cubes. Fill the empty tomato tins with water & add into the sauce as well. Cook for a minute or two, until warm.
  • Next, gradually add in the milk whilst stirring then add in the bay leaves and season with salt & pepper. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer then cook on the stove for 2-3 hours, until thick and most of the liquid has evaporated.
    Make sure to stir the sauce every so often!
  • Once the sauce is cooked, stir in the Worcestershire sauce & balsamic vinegar then give it a taste, to check the seasoning. Stir in more salt & pepper as needed, then take the pan off the heat & leave to cool.
    If the sauce tastes slightly bitter, stir in another teaspoon of balsamic vinegar or a teaspoon of caster sugar.
  • Once cool, transfer the ragu to a container then chill in the fridge overnight before using.
    This improves the flavour!

Pasta Dough

  • Add the flour, eggs & yolks into a food processor then pulse until a rough dough forms. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface then knead by hand until smooth. This will take 15-20 minutes.
  • Wrap the pasta dough in clingfilm & leave in the fridge for at least a couple of hours but overnight is best.

Roasted Garlic Bechamel

  • Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
  • Lightly trim the tops off each bulb of garlic, to expose the cloves then place each bulb onto its' own sheet of foil. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil, season with salt & pepper then roast in the preheated oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until the cloves are golden brown & soft. Once cooked, let the garlic cool whilst you make the bechamel.
  • Next, add the butter into a large saucepan, set over a medium heat, cook until melted then stir in the flour & cook out for 1 minute.
  • Pour a third of the milk into the roux, whisk until smooth then cook out until thick, stirring/whisking regularly. This will take 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.
  • Once thick, pour half of the remaining milk into the pan then continue cooking until thickened again. Repeat this process with the rest of the milk, making sure to whisk/stir the sauce frequently to keep it from catching on the bottom of the pan.
  • Next, stir the chicken stock into the bechamel then turn the heat down to low & cook until the sauce has thickened for a final time. If you give it a taste, it should taste cooked out, not like flour!
    The bechamel should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon once cooked.
  • Once the sauce is cooked, turn the heat down to low, stir in the grated parmesan, to melt then add in grated nutmeg, to taste. Season the bechamel with salt & pepper then take the pan off the heat.
  • Next, squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins then use a stick blender to blend roasted cloves into the sauce then set to one side. You can add as much of the roasted garlic into the bechamel as you like!
    If you haven't got a stick blender, use a jug blender instead! I'd recommend adding at least a bulb of garlic into the sauce but feel free to make it as garlicky as you like.

Lasagne Sheets

  • Cut the pasta dough into 4 pieces then use a rolling pin to roll out one of the pieces of dough so that it's thin enough to pass through a pasta machine.
    Cover the remaining pasta dough with clingfilm to stop it from drying out.
  • Next, roll the dough through your machine's widest setting. If the dough needs to be neatened up, fold the edges into the middle so that the paste is the same width as the pasta machine then roll it out through the widest setting for a second time.
  • Continue rolling out the pasta, working your way through the settings until the pasta is 1mm thick. Make sure to roll the pasta out twice on each setting.
    I took my pasta to setting no.6 but it's best to measure the pasta with a ruler as pasta machines can vary.
  • Next, cut the rolled out pasta into sheets the same width as your baking tin. Dust the lasagne sheets with semolina then place onto a baking tray. Repeat the rolling out process with the remaining pasta dough. You should get around 10 lasagne sheets in total.
    Any trimmings can be re rolled! The semolina stops the lasagne sheets from sticking together but if you haven't got any, dust them with flour instead then separate the layers with baking paper.
  • Once all of the pasta has been rolled out, set a large pan of lightly salted water over a high heat then bring to the boil. Cook the lasagne sheets for 1 minute then immediately place into a bowl of ice & cold water. A pair of tongs or a slotted spoon works best for taking the pasta out of the water.
    It's best to blanch in batches of 3-4 sheets at a time so that they don't stick together. We don't want to fully cook the pasta at this point, just lightly blanch as it makes assembling the lasagne easier.
  • Drain the pasta then place onto a tray lined with a tea towel & pat dry.

Assembly & Baking

  • Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
  • Grate the mozzarella with a box grater then set to one side.
  • Grease a 9"x13" baking tin with butter then spread a small amount of the ragù on the bottom. This stops the lasagne sheets from moving around.
  • Top the ragù with a single layer of lasagne sheets then spoon a quarter of the remaining ragù on top, spreading it out into an even layer that completely covers the pasta.
  • Next, spoon a generous amount of the bechamel over the ragù then top with a sprinkle of grated mozzarella & plenty of grated parmesan (use a microplane to grate the parmesan over the lasagne!).
    You'll need to use roughly 1 fifth of the bechamel, grated mozzarella & parmesan per layer.
  • Continue layering up the lasagne in the same order until you've used up all of the pasta sheets, ragù, bechamel & cheese. The top layer should just be bechamel & grated cheese (no ragù).
    There should be five layers of lasagne sheets, ragù (including the bottom layer) & bechamel.
  • Place the tin of lasagne onto a baking tray then bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour until the top is crisp & golden brown and the sauces are bubbling.
    The tray is there to catch any sauce that may bubble over!
  • Once cooked, let the lasagne stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting & serving. This helps the lasagne hold its' shape.

Notes

1. Cooking On An Aga - For the ragù, brown the meat & deglaze the pan using the boiling plate then move over to the simmering plate after you add in the tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes on the simmering plate then cook in the simmering oven for 3-4 hours.
Cook the bechamel on the simmering plate & blanch the lasagne sheets on the boiling plate. Cook the lasagne in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Meat - I like to use a 50/50 mix of beef & pork mince as I find it gives the ragù the best flavour. Feel free to use just beef if you'd prefer though. It's best to use mince with a 10-20% fat content. If you haven't got any pancetta, streaky bacon will work instead.
3. Tinned Tomatoes - Good quality tinned tomatoes work best for the ragù, I use Mutti! I used chopped tomatoes but plum tomatoes will work as well (you'll need to break them up in the pan with a spoon!). Sometimes, tinned tomatoes can make the ragù taste bitter, which is why we add in balsamic vinegar/sugar in at the end, to balance the flavours.
4. Wine - Don’t worry about using an expensive red wine! A Merlot or Malbec would be a good choice. If you’d prefer to make your Bolognese without red wine, use beef stock instead.
5. Lasagne Sheets - If you don't fancy making your own lasagne sheets, dried ones will work instead. Fresh lasagne sheets can be made up to a day in advance & will need to be stored in the fridge, covered in clingfilm.
6. 00 Flour - Make sure to use 00 flour for the pasta dough. I used Caputo flour.
7. Making In Advance - The ragù & bechamel will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. The assembled lasagne can be stored in the fridge for up to a day before being baked. However, you'll need to add an extra 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.
8. Storage & Reheating - Any leftover lasagne needs to be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within a couple of days. The best way to reheat leftover lasagne is to bake it covered in foil in a 180°c/356°f oven until piping hot. If you take the internal temperature of the filling, it should be at least 75°c/167°f.