Preheat the oven to 150°c.

In a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat & combine the olive oil and onion. Cook on the stovetop till softened (about 10 minutes). Add garlic. Cook for 1 minute and stir through. Remove the onion from the pan and set aside.

Add the chuck steak in batches to the pot. Seal all sides of the meat until lightly brown (a couple of minutes on each side). Don’t overcrowd the pan as the meat will stew. We’re sealing in all the goodness and rendering any fat on the outside!

Add the sauteed onion & garlic back into the pot along with the beef stock, red wine, canned tomato, tomato paste, bay, and thyme. Give a good stir to release any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan from cooking the beef. Bring the tomato sauce to simmer point over medium heat on top of the stove stirring occasionally, then pop in the oven (lid on) for 3 hours.

Remove from oven. Taste test and adjust seasoning (if needed)with salt and pepper.

Using a flat-edge spatula, break up any chunky bits of meat so you are left with a shredded beef consistency. Set aside.

On a low heat, melt the butter in the Dutch oven. Add the flour and stir to combine into a paste. Cook, stirring continuously, on low heat for 5 minutes. This is needed to cook out the flour.

Add 1 cup of milk continually stirring to allow the milk to incorporate into the flour mixture (or roux). At this stage, change from using your wooden spoon to stir to a whisk. It will make it much easier to get a smooth, creamy sauce. Gradually add the remaining milk a little at a time, stirring continuously until the mixture resembles a thick, creamy sauce. A bechamel sauce can take a lot of liquid, so don’t be afraid if it looks really runny. Cooking the sauce will cause the sauce to thicken. If it thickens too much, just add more milk.

Add the grated cheeses and stir through to melt them into the sauce.

Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Cover the base of your lasagna baking dish with a single layer of lasagna sheets.

Add a layer of ragu using approximately half of the slow-cooked beef sauce.

Cover the ragu with a layer of lasagna sheets.

Add a layer of bechamel sauce using half of the sauce.

Cover the bechamel sauce with a layer of lasagna sheets.

Repeat steps 3 through 5 using the remaining ragu and bechamel sauce.

Dot pieces of mozzarella all over the top of the bechamel sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top!