Ultimate Lasagne With Beef Brisket, Red Wine & Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil a kettle

Peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Heat a large pot (with a matching lid!) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium heat

Once hot, add your chopped garlic and dried oregano and cook for 30 secs or until fragrant

Once fragrant, add your tomato paste with your red wine paste and give it a good mix up

Add your slow cooked beef brisket to the pot with 300ml [400ml] [500ml] boiled water, your chopped tomatoes, beef stock mix and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] sugar

Bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 8-10 min or until the beef is warmed through and the sauce has slightly thickened

Meanwhile, grate your cheddar cheese finely

Add a generous knob of butter to a small pot over a medium heat

Once melted, add 2 tbsp [3 tbsp] [4 tbsp] flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 min or until a sandy paste forms – this is your roux

Add the 200ml [300ml] [400ml] milk gradually and whisk for 3 min or until a smooth, thick sauce remains

Remove the pot from the heat and season with a pinch of salt and pepper – this is your béchamel

Once the beef is warmed through, transfer the beef (keep the sauce in the pan!) to a clean chopping board and pull it apart using two forks – this is your pulled beef

Return the pulled beef to the pot with a generous grind of pepper and give everything a good mix up – this is your ragù

Layer some of the ragù over the bottom of an oven-proof dish (use individual ones for fancy presentation!) then top with some of your lasagne sheets, being careful not to overlap the sheets

Repeat this process until you end up with a final layer of lasagne sheets (you may need to layer differently depending on the size of your dish)

Top with the béchamel and cover the dish[es] with tin foil

Put the dish[es] in the oven and cook for 20-22 min or until the pasta is tender – this is your lasagne

Once the lasagne has had 20 min, remove the dish[es] from the oven and discard the tin foil

Top with the grated cheddar and return the dish[es] to oven for a final 15 min or until the cheese is melted and golden – this is your lasagne with beef brisket, red wine & cheddar

Wash your salad, then pat dry with kitchen paper