@Horehound - I can't remember the detail, and it wasn't rocket science, but it was to sweat down a pretty substantial amount of chopped veg (onion, carrot, celery - all chopped VERY finely), in a LOT of oil, then to add minced meat - beef and pork which we minced in the kitchen with her, but would be the equivalent of mince and chopped bacon/pancetta, to brown it, then there was a slow addition of stock (which was just carrot, celery, onion, bay, thyme, rosemary all simmering away with water in another pan on the hob) and tomatoes (can't remember whether they were tinned or fresh now - I imagine fresh). The liquid was all added a ladle at a time - she was quite insistent that the meat must not be boiled, so we were never allowed to submerge it in liquid, so it was added little and often, to gradually build up the flavour. There was a fairly copious amount of red wine too, which I guess must have been before the stock/tomatoes, because that was also added in stages and cooked down.
So the ingredients were no different from how I'd make a lasagne sauce, but the process was more involved. Interestingly though, by doing it her way, we didn't need to leave it to cook for ages - once she was happy with the way it tasted, we went straight to layering it up.
I did take proper notes at the time, so I do have the detail written down - maybe I'll dig them out and make it 'properly' at the weekend...
It did taste absolutely amazing.
We also made delicious stuffed pasta, tiramisu, a variant of tiramisu with Limoncello rather than coffee, a meatloaf, and something else which escapes me now.
'Mama' (who was in charge) didn't speak any english, so she had her lovely sons in the kitchen with her, to translate and pour the wine, and clear up behind us. It was the most enjoyable afternoon/evening, and thinking about it now is making me want to go on holiday and just be immersed in a different culture again...