I eyeballed the fat content in the grind (essentially going by volume), which doesn't take into account the fat I couldn't trim, and then used other fat for the mirepoix as I usually would have done when using ground meat from the store that doesn't have enough fat in it at all (thanks to the attraction of "extra extra extra lean" ).

So next time I'll use the scale.

I swear, I could add beef blood, a trace of fat, some marrow, and some salt to sawdust and sell it as "99% Lean". People would probably buy it, too.

Cheers,

-Andrew

Also a pinch or so of ground coriander.

Step 2 - Making the Lasagne

This is the less interesting bit and mainly involved repetitive work.

I set the sauce on the stovetop to evaporate some of the excess liquid.

I steamed some spinach and chopped it as fine as possible, made a well in 1.5c of unbleached all-purpose flour, plopped two eggs and the spinach in, and got to it.

My 5yo wanted to crank the pasta machine, so I told him to get some Hallowe'en candy and go watch TV, since he either does it too slowly, or, after I tell him to hurry it up, too fast (just to be difficult), and to be honest, I don't like people in my kitchen.

One I had it all rolled out a made the bechamel. I messed up the first batch by trying to multitask too much. The roux mixture started to brown. It smelled great, but it would have made anything it touched taste like pancakes, so down the sink it went and I made it again. I've never understood why so much bechamel-making advice omits what I've found to be the nearly foolproof technique, which is to ensure the milk is scalding hot before putting it in the roux. Not a lump in sight and thickens almost immediately.

Next the pasta is plunged in boiling salted water, then cold water, then rinsed in cold water, then dried (a little) in towels. Finally I smear a baking dish with butter and a bit of bechamel, mix the sauce and bechamel together, and layer pasta, sauce, and cheese until I run out of sauce. I think I got about 9 layers in.

This all took about two hours. Then, into the oven for 20 minutes to heat through and slightly brown the top. Five minutes to rest and to the table...

Step 3

It turned out perfect. Happy ending.