Kelly Stretton

INGREDIENTS

1kg beef brisket (cut into 2 inch chunks)

1 bottle of red wine

1 litre of beef stock

2 white onions

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp of oregano

2 tbsp basil

2 red chillies

40g flour

40g butter

600ml milk

100g smoked applewood, grated

200g mature chedar cheese, grated

Pasta sheets

METHOD

Pre heat oven 160°C.

For the meat sauce, cut the brisket into chunks of meat and place them in to a bowl. Lightly coat in oil and salt to season.

Heat a frying pan on high heat and brown the chunks of meat and deglaze the pan with some water and stock to release all the tasty charred caramelised pieces. Add the remaining pieces add to your roasting tin.

Turn the pan down to a medium heat and dice and sweat the onions until translucent. After approximately 10 minutes, add the crushed garlic, herbs and spices. Stir to coat the onions then add to the roasting dish with the meat.

Cover the meat with the stock, red wine, tomatoes and pop on the lid and place in the oven. Slow roast at 160°C for 4 hours. Check each hour or so to ensure the meat is covered in liquid. If running low, top up with water.

To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in the sauce pan on a low to medium heat. Add the flour and stir for one minute to cook the roux. Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously.

Once half of the milk has been added, place the pan back on the heat and add the remaining milk in more generous additions. Turn the heat up to high and allow to boil. Once it has reached boiling point, turn to a medium heat and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Add 50g of grated applewood, stir until it is completely melted into the sauce and then season with salt and pepper.

Take out the potato masher and break up the meat gently. Allow it to soak up all the remaining sauce, you still want it to be juicy and to have different sizes of meat.

To layer the lasagna, the first layer is the meat sauce. Follow with the béchamel, then the pasta sheets and repeat until the dish is full. The last layer should be the béchamel. Top with grated cheese.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until piping hot and the cheese has turned a golden colour.