Lasagna Bolognese
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Recipe Intro From thefeedfeed
Marrying into a large Italian family has greatly influenced my cooking style. When Lasagna was first served at Christmas, I was skeptical, but after over 13 years of new traditions, I have finally embraced it.
There is nothing more comforting than a traditional lasagna bolognese. The recipe is time-consuming, yes, but boy is it worth it! A slowly simmered bolognese sauce is layered with creamy bechamel, delicate handmade noodles, and generous amounts of grated parmesan cheese. The end result? A lasagna so ethereal you won’t be able to enjoy anything but the real thing ever again.
Using high-quality Tuttorosso San Marzano Style Hand Crushed Tomatoes, Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce and Tuttorosso Tomato Paste take this lasagna to the next level. Crafted from sustainably farmed tomatoes sourced from family farms, these hand-crushed tomatoes are a pantry item that will bring all of your dishes to new heights! Pick up some quality Tuttorosso Tomatoes (locate products near you HERE) and try this recipe soon.
Recipe and Headnote Molly Adams
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For the Bolognese:
ingredients
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Black pepper, freshly ground, as needed
- Crushed red pepper flakes, as needed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon Tuttorosso Tomato Paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 (28 ounce) can San Marzano Style Hand Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
For the Pasta:
ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 3 eggs
- 1 egg, yolk only
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt, as needed
For the Bechamel:
ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 5 cups whole milk, warmed slightly
- Nutmeg, as needed
- Kosher salt, as needed
To Assemble:
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter, for the pan
- 2 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Black pepper, freshly ground, as needed
- Crushed red pepper flakes, as needed
For the Bolognese:
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Add pancetta to a large dutch oven and place over medium heat. Cook until fat has rendered and pancetta is crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving rendered fat in the pan. Set pancetta aside.
Step 2
To the same dutch oven, add olive oil and set heat to medium. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until slightly softened. Season to taste with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Step 3
Add ground beef and pork and cook for 8 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the rendered pancetta and tomato paste. Let tomato paste cook for 2 minutes, or until it begins to caramelize slightly, then deglaze the pan with red wine. Let wine cook until reduced by half, about 4-5 minutes, then add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Step 4
Cover the dutch oven and remove from heat. Place in the oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in heavy cream and set aside on the stove top covered so it remains warm.
For the Pasta:
Step 1
Add flour to a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center. Add eggs, egg yolk, 1 1/2 tablespoons of water, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Using a fork, slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture until most of the flour has been moistened. Then, using your hands, collect the dough into a shaggy round.
Step 2
Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes, or until very smooth and elastic. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Cut the dough into 4 pieces (keep dough you are not working with covered). Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick, then run it through a manual crank pasta machine, using flour as needed, until the sheet is about 1/8 inch thick. Repeat with remaining dough. Cut the noodles into sheets the same size as the lasagna pan you plan on using.
Step 4
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and set up an ice bath. Working with two or three sheets of pasta at a time, boil each lasagna noodle for about 15 seconds, or until it floats to the top of the pot. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath to cool. Then remove excess water from each sheet of pasta, and place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Repeat with remaining noodles, being sure to layer the noodles evenly between parchment paper so they don’t stick together. Set aside while you make the bechamel.
For the Bechamel:
Step 1
Add butter to a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes, or until the roux begins to smell nutty and take on a very light brown color.
Step 2
Switching to a wire whisk, slowly whisk in milk. Once all of the milk has been added, cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened and can coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and season with nutmeg and salt. Keep warm.
To Assemble:
Step 1
Butter a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish or lasagna pan. Spread a thin layer of bolognese on the bottom, then add a layer of noodles followed by a ladle of bolognese, a ladle of bechamel and sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat layers until you have used up all of your ingredients. The top layer should be noodles topped with bechamel and parmesan cheese.
Step 2
Bake at 350˚F for 50 minutes or until bubbling and lightly browned. Preheat broiler to high and place lasagna under the broiler for about 2-4 minutes, or until golden brown.