There comes a time in every piglet’s life where the idea, “I want to make lasagne and then eat the entire dish on my own with a spoon” has come into its thoughts. Or is This Little Pig alone in this notion? Either way, including a white sauce, spaghetti bolognaise sauce and pasta all in one meal is a sure fire way to make it one of This Little Pig’s favourite meals of all time. This recipe is a slight variation on one of Jaimie Oliver's lasagne's and This Little Pig can literally not get enough of it. NB: Never leave a piglet at home with this lasagne all day - it could have disastrous results.

However, be warned dear piglet, this recipe is not for the faint hearted. It is an easy enough meal to create but it is indeed time consuming. This is the kind of meal you wake up and do on your Sunday morning after a full night of sleep. The reward at the end is so 100% worth it and worst case scenario, if you get bored half way through, you will have made a lovely bolognaise sauce; so just throw some pasta into boiling water and toss the pasta sheets out to the chickens and voila! No one will have ever known you gave up. Oink.

  

Ingredients of Glory:

500g x Beef Mince

500g x Pork Mince

100g x Pancetta

24 x Lasagne Sheets (dry or fresh – also…have a few extra sheets on hand in case)

2 x Tins of Tomatoes

2 x Tbs Dried Mixed Italian Herbs

2 x Star Anise

2 x Bay Leaves

1 x Fresh Oregano Bunch

1 x Fresh Basil Bunch

1 x Fresh Sage Bunch

1 x Brown Onion

5 x Garlic Cloves

2 x Cups of Red Wine (& 2 cups for the cook *giggle)

3 x Celery Stalks

500g x Grated Mozarella

2 x Carrots

1 x Tbs Strawberry Jam or Honey

1 x Tbs Olive Oil for Frying

Good Scrunch of Pepper

 

For the Butternut Pumpkin Layers

1 x Butternut Pumpkin (Bragging time: this one was out of This Little Pig’s garden!)

1 x Tbs Cumin Seeds

1 x Tbs Olive Oil

1 x Tbs Ground Coriander

1 x Tsp Chilli Flakes

 

For the White Sauce:

600g x Crème Fraiche

3 x Anchovies

½ x Cup Grated Parmesan

1 x Tsp Nutmeg

Good Scrunch of Pepper

 

Method:

To get the pumpkin looking gorj.

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• Halve and peel your butternut pumpkin (this requires a sharp knife, a good peeler and a variety of colourful language – so be patient piglet).
• Cut your halves into very thin slices (around 5 mm thick).
• Lay out over several lined trays (they can be touching but not covering each other too much).
• Drizzle over your olive oil (1 Tbs) and scatter over your Cumin Seeds (1 Tbs), Ground Coriander (1 Tbs) & Chilli Flakes (1 Tsp).

• Place in the oven for 45 mins or until soft through.

 

To get Bolognaise Sauce to perfection:

• Skin and finely dice garlic (5) & onion (1).
• Finely dice carrot (2) and celery (3).
• Finely dice your pancetta (100g).

• Heat olive oil in a large pot until hot to trot.
• Add in your pancetta and cook until really nice and crispy.

• Add in your garlic and onion, and cook until starting to turn translucent.

• Add in your diced carrot and celery and cook until carrot is starting to soften.
• Add in your beef and pork mince and cook until lightly browned.
• Add in your star anise (2) and mixed Italian dried herbs (2 Tbs); mix through well.

• Now pour in your red wine (2 cups – don’t tell me you’ve drunk it already piglet), bay leaves (2), tomato tins (2), Strawberry Jam (1 Tbs) and a good scrunch of salt and pepper and bring to the boil (around 2 mins).

• Reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble away for around 30 mins, stirring occasionally.

 

To get the white sauce to perfection:

• Very finely dice your anchovies (3).
• Mix your crème fraiche (600ml), diced anchovies (3), parmesan (1 Cup) & nutmeg (1 Tsp) together. Put a good scrunch of pepper through it and mix well.

Putting it all together:

• Preheat oven to 180.
• Rip the leaves of your oregano (1), sage (1/2) & basil (1) off the stems and roughly chop up the leaves (discarding the stems).

• Mix through your finished Bolognese Sauce.

• Grab out your large oven-roasting tray (This Little Pig used a tray that was 30 x 45 – but in hindsight this may have been a bit excessive so go a little smaller if you can piglets).
• Now put a layer of Bolognaise sauce in the bottom. Cover your Bolognaise with a layer of pasta sheets – just overlapping at the edges. Cover the pasta sheets with a layer of your spiced, roasted pumpkin. Cover your pumpkin with a light layer of your White Sauce. Repeat until all of your items are gone or your tray is full. Make sure you finish with a layer of the White Sauce as your topping. Cover your White Sauce with your grated cheddar cheese (1-2 cups).

• Pop into the oven for 30 mins or until the pasta layers are cooked through and the cheese on top is golden brown.
• And that my dear piglets is a masterpiece fit for a king. Congratulations. Oink.