Homemade lasagne is a good old favourite of mine.  What I love about this recipe is that I can batch cook it and keep it frozen until required.  I also change the mince I use and in this recipe I have used venison in this recipe which makes it lovely and rich.  In addition, the infused onion, clove and bay leaf add a further dimension to the béchamel cheese sauce.

Ingredients

500g venison mince (or beef mince)

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

400g can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp. tomato puree

1 tsp thyme

200ml beef stock

100 ml red wine

Cheese sauce

50g butter

50g butter

300ml whole milk

300 ml double cream

½ onion

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

12 lasagne sheets

200g grated cheddar & parmesan cheese

1 ball mozzarella

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200c
2. For the beef, fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes, then add the beef and thyme until browned
3. Add the tomatoes, stock and wine – gently simmer for 20 minutes
4. For the Cheese sauce, put the ½ onion, 2 cloves and bay leaf in the milk and slowly bring to a simmer, then set aside for a few minutes to cool down.  Then strain the infused milk into a jug and add the cream
5. In the meantime, melt the butter in a pot, whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes
6. Begin to slowly add the milk/cream mixture and continue to whisk until it comes to a simmer, then add in the ½ cheese and season well
7. Begin to construct your lasagne.  Put 1/3 of the beef in the bottom of a large casserole, top with lasagne and repeat twice.
8. Finish by pouring the cheese sauce over the top, sprinkle with remaining cheese and mozzarella torn into pieces
9. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden drown