Sichuan Pepper & Cumin-Spiced Lamb & Mushroom Lasagne

Put the dried mushrooms in a jug or other heat proof container. Pour over just-boiled water, cover with a plate and leave to rehydrate for 20 mins or more. Get a bit of your prep out of the way by peeling and finely grating the ginger, finely slicing the spring onions, and mincing the garlic.

Pour a glug of oil into a large casserole, high-sided frying pan or wok set over a high heat. Add the lamb and fry for around 8 mins, stirring only occasionally, so that it colours and crisps a little.

Meanwhile, separately grind the cumin and Sichuan peppercorns to coarse powders using a pestle and mortar. Add to the lamb, along with the garlic, ginger, and spring onions. Reduce the heat to medium, cook for 2 mins, then stir in the chilli bean paste and caster sugar. Add the rehydrated mushrooms and the stock from the jug, and bring to a gentle simmer.

While the lamb is cooking, use a food processor to finely chop the button mushrooms (do this in batches). Add the remaining oil to a separate large frying pan, set over a medium-high heat. Put the chopped mushrooms into this and sauté the mushrooms for 8-10 mins, so they reduce in volume, moisture cooks away and they darken. Add the shaoxing wine and soy sauce. Let these bubble and absorb into the mushrooms, then sir the mushrooms into the lamb ragù.

Par-boil the pasta sheets. To do this, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a large mixing bowl, adding the sesame oil and chilli oil into the base of this. Cook half the pasta sheets for 3 mins, until they’re floppy. Pick them out with tongs or a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl, tossing in the oil so that they are slick and slippery. Repeat, adding the remaining sheets to the bowl and gently mixing so that all the pasta is glossy (add more oil and chilli oil if you think it’s needed).

Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Whizz up the tofu in a food processor so that it’s a silky purée.

Assemble the lasagne. Put a ladleful of mostly liquid from the ragù into the base of the dish. Cover with a layer of pasta sheets, then one quarter of the ragu, and one quarter of the tofu, dotted over the top of the ragù in splodges. Repeat, alternating oil-slicked pasta sheets, ragu and tofu, until you have five layers of pasta. Finish by smudging the top layer of pasta with any remaining smears of ragu and tofu, and spoon any oils from the pasta bowl over the top. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 mins, then remove the foil and cook for 15-20 mins more until the top is blistered, crisp and a little brown. If you’re a fan, you could spoon a little more oil over the top.

Leave to rest for 15 mins, then serve.