Ah, the homely lasagne: a dish which, if not exactly lost in translation has, in the grand British tradition, been considerably mangled. I was quite taken aback the first time I encountered the real thing or a London delicatessen's version of the real thing, which arrived in our mouldy student dwelling courtesy of a parent visiting from the Big Smoke. As a pasta dish which contained neither tuna nor sweetcorn, it was bound to be a marvel, but there were other reasons for falling upon this manna from heaven or, at least, Highgate.

As with so many classic Italian dishes, lasagne alla bolognese should be kept simple – a robustly savoury meat sauce, creamy bèchamel, and just a hint of cheese, all deferring to the real star of the show, the pasta. It may take a little more time to make than you're used to, but I promise you, it's worth it.

For this guide you will need the following:

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to cook the pasta
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
500g chuck steak, cut into small dice
50g chicken livers, trimmed and finely chopped
100ml red wine
400ml passata
Grated nutmeg
50g butter
50g plain flour
600ml whole milk
About 9 sheets dried egg lasagne (depending on the size of the sheets and your dish - you'll need 3 layers of pasta)
100g grated parmesan

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and gently fry the onion until softened. Add the carrot and continue to cook for 5 minutes, then add the celery and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the chopped beef and cook until browned all over, then stir in the chopped livers and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Pour in the wine and passata, season with salt, pepper and a pinch of grated nutmeg, then bring to a simmer. Cover partially, turn the heat down, and leave to simmer gently for 2 hours. Uncover, and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is well flavoured and almost dry.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a medium pan, and then whisk in the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, then gradually whisk in the milk, and bring to the boil, still stirring. Season and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened.

4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add a couple of drops of olive oil. Blanch the pasta, in batches to stop it clumping together, for 1 minute, then drain, separate and leave to dry on a tea towel or greased plate or board.

5. To assemble the lasagne, take a deep, wide dish and coat the bottom with a third of the meat sauce, topped with a quarter of the béchamel, and a sprinkling of parmesan, and finally a layer of blanched pasta. Repeat two more layers, and then top the last layer of pasta with the rest of the béchamel, and the remaining parmesan. Grate a little nutmeg over the top, and cook for 40 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

6. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving – lasagne is better warm than hot, and even better the next day.

By the time you have cooked this masterpiece, the game will probobly still be loading so just relax and eat your Lasagne