Lasagne alla Bolognese
Lasagne alla Bolognese is one of the most iconic “Sunday Dishes” and it’s one of the dishes that reminds me the most of home. Making Lasagne alla Bolognese from scratch is a long process so what I instead do now is I used the already made lasagne sheets that Barilla makes (I do not trust them when they say that they don’t need to be cooked though and always throw them in boiling water for 2 minutes). This step is quite crucial as the Lasagne get really hard and crunchy without it instead of soft and creamy. If you cook them for just a minute they will easily absorb the sauce and béchamel and the taste will be 100 x better.
Another thing to remember is - Bolognese sauce does take time. Making the sauce is an art, and it really has to cook for quite a while in order for all the flavours to blend together. Last but not least, I usually make the sauce with beef mince and pork mince as the mix really creates a great taste but you can also do it with only beef mince (I would not recommend only pork mince).
Prep Time: 60 Minutes
Baking Time: 180 Minutes
Ingredients for 8 portions:
Minced Beef - 200 g (6 oz)
Minced Pork - 100 g (5 oz)
Pancetta (Bacon) - 100 g (4 oz)
Carrots - 50 g (½ cup)
Celery - 50 g (½ cup)
Onions - 2
Red wine - 100 mL (½ cup)
Milk - 20 mL (0.7 oz)
Parmigiano Reggiano - 300 g (2.3 cups)
Tomato Puree - 300 g (1 ¼ cup)
Extra virgin olive oil - a drizzle
Salt & Pepper
Ingredients for Béchamel:
Butter - 70 g (0.3 cups)
Flour - 70 g (0.6 cup)
Whole Milk - 1 L (4.2 cups)
Salt
Nutmeg
Preparation:
We start preparing our Lasagne by preparing the Bolognese sauce. Wash and chop the carrots, onions and celery very finely. Also cut the pancetta into strips (or if you have cubes that is ok too).
In a medium/large saucepan add the pancetta without adding any oil, the pancetta will release a lot of its own oil in the beginning. After 2 minutes add the carrots, onions and celery and let it cook for around 10 minutes at medium heat.
Now add the minced meat (both beef and pork), let it cook for a bit until the meat becomes nice and brown. Once the meat has changed color add the red wine and wait until it evaporates before adding the tomato puree. Now leave your sauce to cook for 2 hours, check on it regularly to make sure it’s not too dry (if it is you can add some water) and to stir it.
While your bolognese sauce is cooking we can prepare the béchamel.
Get a pan and start melting the butter in it at medium heat, once the butter is melted add the flour and keep stirring. This is a super important part as you will be stirring in order to get a brownish roux (roux is the mixture of flour and butter that we use to make the béchamel).
Once you have achieved this roux add the milk (at room temperature). Don’t add the milk all at once, add it little by little and keep mixing throughout. After a bit of mixing you should have achieved béchamel consistency and now you can add some salt and grated nutmeg. Put the béchamel aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Once the 2 hours have passed and your sauce is ready you can add the milk and stir it in. Let it cook for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile you can start preparing the baking pan (30x20) - grease it with butter on the bottom.
Bring some water to boil and boil your lasagne sheets for around 30 seconds/ 1 minute until they are soft and remove them gently.
Take your baking pan and start layering! First a layer of béchamel, then a layer of sauce, a layer of grated parmesan then the lasagne sheets - keep ding this until you have gotten to the top. Make sure the top layer is béchamel with some sauce and grated parmesan on top (never place the lasagne sheets on top without covering them with sauce and béchamel).
Now you can add some butter to the top layer and place the lasagne in the oven to bake for 40/45 min at 180°C (350°F).
You can serve the lasagne alla bolognese as soon as they are out of the oven or you can savour them for 2/3 days afterwards (making sure you are storing it in the fridge). I usually like to re-heat the lasagne either in the oven or in a pan!