
Well, I kind of made up the name 'Lasagna al Britannico', because this is really not much like the Italian original recipe. But it is very popular in Britain - proper comfort food to suit the (mostly) rotten British weather. And I apologise to Italians everywhere for mis-spelling it as 'lasagna' instead of 'lasagne'.
Lasagna has four main components - a meat and tomato sauce (British Bolognese Sauce), a white sauce with a bit of cheese in it, based on a classic béchamel sauce, layers of pasta sheets, and a molten cheese topping.
To begin, peel and slice the onion and add it, the bay leaf and the cloves to the milk. Leave to infuse for at least half an hour.
When cooked, taste the sauce and add salt if necessary. If the sauce is too runny (it should be moist but not sitting in liquid), turn the heat on full and reduce the excess liquid. You can use this sauce straight away, but it does improve if you leave it overnight.
You'll need enough sheets of pasta to create 3 layers in your dish. If your pasta is pre-cooked, you can use it after soaking and cutting. For uncooked dried pasta, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Butter the insides and bottom of your dish. Spread a thin layer of the bolognese sauce on the bottom. Cover this with a layer of pasta sheets, cutting them as necessary to fit the dish, and trying not to overlap the sheets. Spread another layer of bolognese sauce, and then a layer of the white sauce. Cover this with a second layer of pasta, and cover that with the remaining bolognese sauce. Add the final layer of pasta, the remainder of the white sauce, and sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.
Vegetable oil for sautéeing. Enough dried lasagna sheets to create 3 layers in your baking dish. The cheese can be whatever you like, but preferably a flavoursome melty cheese. I use mature cheddar.