When I returned home to California for a visit, my sister asked me to make Italian Style Lasagna. My sister is known for her very hefty and delicious “American” style lasagna that is full of different cheeses, sausage and ground beef and costs a fortune to make. So we had told her how simple lasagna in Italy is and she really wanted to try it. I don’t know if it will be a game changer for them but this is how they do it in Italy…
This lasagna is the most famous and popular in Italy, it is considered “true” Italian Lasagna by Italians with all other variations being the fantasy of the mind or regional differences. Every time I make it, it takes me by surprise with the list of ingredients: what is in it, and what is not. For example, there is no ricotta, mozzerella or garlic. There IS carrots, celery, milk and nutmeg! Go figure, but the result is delicious in its simplicity.
Lasagna Bolognese
Ragu:
2 medium carrots or 1/2 cup finely diced
2 stalks of celery or 1/2 cup finely diced
1 small onion or 1/2 cup finely diced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 cups cup tomato sauce or 1 can (12 ounces)
1 cup red wine
1 cup of water or as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Béchamel:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
A few grinds or sprinkle of nutmeg
1/2 cup grated pecorino
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or use all Parmesan)
8 ounce package dried Lasagna Noodles
Prepare the Ragu by first preparing the Soffritto (the base of Italian Cooking: carrots, celery and onion). You need to dice the carrots, celery and onion up very finely. I do this by first peeling the carrot then slicing the carrot lengthwise into very skinny matchsticks, then group them together and chop up finely, do the same with the celery but there is no need to peel it. For the onion, after peeling it and removing the top and bottom, first slice it into thin slices so you can see the rings in the onion then cut it crosswise to make a small chop.
Sauté in olive oil, cook until soft. Add the ground meat and cook until browned. You can drain the fat but the Italians don’t. Add the wine and allow to simmer and almost evaporated. Add the tomato sauce and cook, simmering until reduced. Add 4 cups of water and allow to bubble and evaporate for one hour. Add milk and simmer lightly until you are ready for it.
Meanwhile prepare your Bechemel by heating the butter in a pan and adding the flour and salt, allow to bubble while you stir it to keep it from forming lumps. Add the milk gradually and continue to stir. Add the nutmeg and 1/2 cup of the cheese, allow to bubble slightly then set it aside. Bring some salted water to a boil to cook the pasta noodles. Layer a spoonful of Ragu to the lasagna pan and spread out evenly. Add a layer of cooked pasta noodles, a layer of Bechemel and a layer of Ragu. Repeat until the pan is full.
For the top layer mix the Bechemel and Ragu together and spread on top.
Top with remaining half a cup of Parmesan and Pecorino. Place in 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. Enjoy!
Try these other great dinner ideas from our Archive:
Babaganush (Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Dip) Published July 29, 2017
Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce (Published August 18, 2017)
Saltimbocca (Roman Style Veal Scallopini) (Published February 18, 2018)
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad (Bun Bo Xoa) Published March 12, 2018)
Spiced Chickpea Salad with Roasted Cauliflower (Published April 22, 2018)
Steamed Mussels and Fettuccine (Cozze e Fettuccine) Published May 4, 2019)
Shrimp Risotto (Risotto alla Gamberi) Published June 2, 2018)
Pasta Carbonara (Published May 12, 2018)
Arancini (Italian Fried Rice Balls) Published June 4, 2018)
Ossobuco alla Milanese (Milan Style Veal Shanks & Saffron Risotto) Published June 20, 2018)
Lasagna Bolognese (Published Aug 3, 2018)
Other great Italian cooking websites are: MemoriediAngelina, I love his site because the recipes are very authentic yet written in English with American measurements! (Not an easy thing to find)
And GialloZafferano is the website Italians use to cook Italian! Its a great site but uses European measurements which is difficult to translate.
