Description
Lasagna Bolognese is luscious and comforting, and great for any friend or family gathering. The slow-cooked sauce is well worth the effort.
Ingredients
Scale
Bolognese:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
- 1lb ground pork
- 1lb ground beef
- 4oz pancetta
- 1 large onion
- 4 medium carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed in press or finely minced
- 6oz (10 tbsp) tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup chicken stock, beef stock, veal stock or water
- 2 bay leaves
- 3–4 whole cloves
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Béchamel:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- Kosher salt and white pepper
For assembly:
- 1lb dry lasagna noodles
- 1lb mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- Grind pancetta: Cube pancetta and place into a food processor. Pulse until finely ground. Do not bother to clean before grinding vegetables in step 3.
- Brown meat: Heat a Dutch oven or large sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil followed by pork, beef and pancetta. Spread in an even layer. Cook undisturbed for 7-10 minutes or until well-browned on bottom side. Flip in large chunks using a spatula. Season. Cook undisturbed for at least 6-8 minutes or until browned on opposite side and cooked through. Break up into smaller pieces using a wooden spoon. Transfer meat to a bowl, reserving oil in pan.
- Grind vegetables: While meat browns, cut onion, carrots and celery into 1-2 inch chunks. Transfer to food processor, in batches, as needed. Pulse until finely ground, but do not puree.
- Cook soffritto: Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to pan. Add ground onion, carrots and celery. Season generously with salt. Cook for at least 25-30 minutes to upwards of 1 hour until vegetables release all of their moisture and become sweet and flavorful. Add an additional tablespoon of oil, as needed, so the vegetables do not get dry or burned. Lower heat to medium-low when needed to prevent browning.
- Add garlic and tomato paste: Add minced garlic and cook 30-60 seconds, making sure not to brown. Add tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes or until it becomes a rust color.
- Add remaining ingredients and simmer: Add wine and reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add milk, stock, bay leaf and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours or until richly flavored. Break up meat more, as needed, while sauce cooks. Add water as needed throughout cooking process to prevent sauce from becoming too thick and burning on bottom. When fully cooked, remove bay leaf and cloves from sauce and discard.
- Make béchamel: While sauce simmers, prepare the béchamel. Warm milk in a pot. In another pot, melt butter over medium heat. When foaming, stir in flour. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in a ½ cup of warmed milk at a time until combined. Simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper (or black pepper).
- Boil noodles: Bring a large, wide pot of salted water to boil. Add lasagna sheets in batches and cook until pliable yet 3-4 undercooked. If the package directions recommend 8 minutes, I cook the noodles for 4-5 minutes. Drain and lay out in layers on a baking sheet between silicon mats or parchment paper.
- Assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. For assembly, grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with oil. Ladle in a thin layer of bolognese to coat the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by bolognese, a layer of bechamel, a sprinkling of mozzarella and about 2 tablespoons of so of parmesan. Repeat with remaining noodles for a total of 4 or 5 layers. Coat the top layer with béchamel and the remaining parmesan. Bake uncovered on the center rack of the oven for 50-60 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Cover pan during last 10-20 minutes of baking if topping reaches desired golden color.
- Serve: Allow lasagna to rest about 20-30 minutes before serving. Enjoy.
Notes
- Feel free to prepare the bolognese up to 3 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. You can also make it weeks in advance and store it in the freezer.
- The béchamel sauce can be made 1-2 days in advance, as well.
- You can prepare the bolognese as directed or with all ground beef, or a combo of pork, beef and/or veal.
- Lasagna freezes well. Wrap individual portions in plastic and store in freezer bags for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven.
- Feel free to use fresh pasta instead of dried. Roughly 3 cups of flour should produce the desired amount of fresh lasagna noodles. Reduce cooking time, as needed.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16 of lasagna)
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 400mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 29g
- Cholesterol: 59mg
