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Mary Berry Sausage Lasagne Recipe

Mary Berry Sausage Lasagne Recipe

Mary Berry's sausage lasagne uses Italian-style sausages in a rich, herby tomato ragù — a deeply flavoured, slightly different take on the classic that everyone loves.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Ragù Time 55 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6 Portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British
Calories: 640
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Sausage Ragù:
  • 800 g Italian-style or best quality pork sausages meat squeezed from casings
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 2 carrots and 3 celery sticks finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds lightly crushed
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes optional
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 150 ml red wine
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp caster sugar 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Large handful fresh basil torn
  • Béchamel:
  • 75 g unsalted butter 75g plain flour, 900ml warm whole milk
  • 75 g Parmesan finely grated, ½ tsp nutmeg, salt and white pepper
  • Assembly:
  • 12 no-cook dried lasagne sheets
  • 75 g Parmesan finely grated
  • 125 g fresh mozzarella torn

Method
 

  1. Squeeze sausage meat from casings — break into irregular pieces. Brown in batches in hot oil 8–10 minutes until deeply browned. Remove.
  2. Cook onion, carrots, and celery 10 minutes. Add garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, and chilli — 2 minutes. Return sausage meat. Add purée — 1 minute. Add wine — 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and bay leaves. Season assertively. Simmer 40–45 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add basil. Taste.
  3. Make béchamel: melt butter, add flour, stir 2 minutes. Add warm milk gradually — whisk smooth. Thicken over heat. Add Parmesan and nutmeg. Season.
  4. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Butter dish. Thin béchamel on base. Layer: 4 sheets, half ragù, third béchamel. Repeat. Final 4 sheets — remaining béchamel over top. Scatter mozzarella and Parmesan.
  5. Bake 40–45 minutes until golden and bubbling. Rest 10 minutes. Serve.

Notes

Use sausages with high meat content — the quality of the sausage is the quality of the ragù.
Leave the sausage meat in irregular pieces — the varied texture is one of this dish's great pleasures.
Fennel seeds give the specifically Italian character — do not omit them.
Brown the sausage meat deeply — proper browning gives the depth this ragù needs.
Season the ragù assertively before assembly — it dilutes slightly during baking.
Freeze assembled before baking for up to 3 months.
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