Celebratory lasagne

This really is something for a special occasion – big, bold and packed with great flavour. A proper feast. It’s been a hugely popular dish and I’ve heard there are people out there who can barely read the recipe in Mediterranean Adventure, where it was first published, because the page is so spattered with sauce! You’ll find a recipe for fresh pasta in our book or you can use bought fresh pasta or dried lasagne sheets.

A celebratory lasagne sits in a rectangular pan with some portions removed, revealing layers of pasta, meatballs, sauce, and cheese. A plate with salad and cutlery rests beside the pan, reminiscent of the comfort found in the best of the Hairy Bikers' creations.

Celebratory lasagne

Info

Serves
8

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

  • 150g minced pork
  • 50g breadcrumbs
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • grating of nutmeg 2 tbsp olive oil salt and black pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and black pepper

TO ASSEMBLE

  • 4 large sausages (preferably Italian style with fennel seed)
  • 1 quantity of tomato sauce (see here)
  • 18 dried lasagne sheets, or fresh pasta sheets
  • 300g ricotta cheese
  • 600g mozzarella
  • 200g Parmesan, grated
  • bunch of basil, shredded (reserve a few whole leaves)

Method

  1. To make the meatballs, put all the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, then form the mixture into small balls of about 20g each – you should get 18–20. Chill the meatballs for 30 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or frying pan (it needs to be big enough to hold the tomato sauce later) and brown the meatballs briefly on all sides. Remove the meatballs from the pan.

  2. Skin the sausages and shape them into small rounds about the same size as the meatballs. Fry these on all sides too. Put the meatballs back in the pan and pour over the tomato sauce. Bring to the boil, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. This helps keep the meatballs and sausage moist during the oven cooking time and also adds flavour to the sauce.

  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. You’ll need an oven dish or roasting tin for assembling the lasagne – one about 25 x 35cm is ideal. If using fresh lasagne, roll it out and cut it into 6 sheets – each should be the length of your dish or tin.

  4. Remove the meatballs and sausages from the tomato sauce with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Ladle about a quarter of the tomato sauce into the bottom of your dish, then cover with either 2 sheets of fresh pasta or 6 dried sheets. Top with the next quarter of tomato sauce, then cover with half the meatballs and sausage. Take 100g of the ricotta and spoon teaspoons of it over the sauce, in between the meatballs and sausage meat. Sprinkle over 100g of the mozzarella and 50g of the grated Parmesan, followed by some of the basil leaves.

  5. Top with another layer of pasta and repeat, using up another quarter of the tomato sauce, the rest of the meatballs and sausage meat, another 100g each of the ricotta and mozzarella, 50g of the Parmesan and more basil.

  6. Finish with a layer of pasta and cover with the remaining tomato sauce. Top with the rest of the ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan and add a few basil leaves, tucking them in so they are not too exposed while in the oven.

  7. Bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes, by which time the pasta will be cooked and the top should be brown and bubbling. Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before cutting. Each serving should stand up well without being sloppy.