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Lasagne bolognese dinner with a square of it cut out of the baking dish and placed on a round white plate

Lasagne Bolognese

You have never had lasagna until you've had this lasagna! Made with layers of spinach pasta coated in a meaty ragú, creamy beschimella/béchamel sauce and just a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. There are no copious amounts of ricotta, mozzarella or tomato sauce. This lasagna has a dense mouth feel, but light, yet so satisfying in the stomach. It is in my opinion a culinary master piece.!! I took classes in Bologna and learned from ladies that shared with me their secrets and, if I do say so, I think I did a good job in replicating it here at home. I’m sure this will soon be a family favorite. In fact, it is now a “required” stock item in our family refrigerator!
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Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Cook Time (Sauce) 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 45 mins

Ingredients
  

Ragu:

  • 1 Large Carrot
  • 2 Celery Stalks
  • 1 Onion medium size
  • 4 oz Pancetta
  • 2 T Olive Oil
  • 1 pound Ground Beef
  • 1 cup Red Wine
  • 2 T Double-Concentrated Tomato Paste dissolved in 1 cup warm water
  • 1½ cups Beef Stock
  • Salt & Pepper

Besicamella:

  • 8 T Butter
  • 8 T Flour
  • 4 cups Milk room temperature
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 4-5 Grinds Fresh Pepper
  • ½ tsp. Nutmeg
  • ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Pasta:

  • 1 pound Fresh Spinach Pasta Sheets
  • ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

Instructions
 

Ragu:

  • In a food processor, finely chop the onion, carrots and celery. Set aside.
    Onion, carrots and celery finely chopped in a food processor
  • Now in the food processer (no need to wash from Step 1), finely chop the pancetta until it resembles ground pork.
  • In a medium sauce pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil; when warm, add the pancetta and cook about 4 minutes until some of the fat starts to render out. Add the vegetables and cook an additional 4-6 minutes until vegetables are soft.
    Pancetta cooking in a pot with vegetables being added
  • Increase the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef; using a spoon, break the meat up into small pieces. Continue stirring and breaking the meat into very small pieces until the meat has cooked evenly, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the red wine and cook about 2 minutes; add the diluted tomato paste and reduce the heat to a simmer. Every few minutes, give the sauce a stir and add a little of the beef stock so that the sauce stays moist.
    Red wine poured in to cooked mixture in a pot
  • Cook the sauce for 1-1½ hours until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.

Besicamella Sauce:

  • In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter; add the flour and stir constantly. Cook until light brown and smells like toast, approximately 2-3 minutes.
    Melted butter and flour being stirred with a whisk in a pan
  • Add the milk while stirring. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook until slightly thick, ( it should just coat a wooden spoon) approximately another 4-6 minutes.
    Milk poured in to butter and flour mixture in a pan
  • Season with nutmeg, cheese, salt and pepper.

Pasta:

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with 1 tablespoon of salt. Working in batches, blanch a few noodles at a time for 1-2 minutes. Place the cooked noodles into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the noodles from ice bath and place on a single layer on a kitchen towel.
  • Assembly: In an 8×10-inch baking dish, cover the bottom of the pan with thin layer of the besicamella then top with a layer of pasta sheets. Spread 2-3 spoons of the Besicamella on top of the pasta, then add 2-3 spoons of the ragú into a thin layer all over the pasta. Top with a handful of cheese.
    Partially cooked green pasta laid out on the bottom of a rectangular baking pan
  • Continue layering the pasta, besicamella, ragú, and cheese ending with pasta sheet on top. Spread with a little béchamel and sprinkle of cheese.
  • When ready to serve, preheat an oven to 350° F. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes until hot and slightly golden brown.
    Showing finished lasagne bolognese dish where top is golden brown
  • Allow to sit 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Notes

TIPS & TRICKS
– I like using a 8 X10 lasagne pan because you end up with 6 or 7 layers of pasta and sauce. But if you can use any size baking dish. You will just need to cut the pasta noodles to fit the size pan and may end up with less layers.
– Ragú can be doubled and frozen. It can be also served with tagliatelle pasta noodles.
– Sauces can be made a day or 2 ahead and reheated over low heat before assembling. If the sauces get to thick, thin the besicamella out with a little milk and the ragú with little stock, then blanch the pasta noodles & assemble the lasagne.
– Traditionally this dish is made with green/ spinach pasta noodles but you can use just plain egg pasta.
– Uncooked lasagna can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Before serving remove from the fridge at least an hour to get up to room temperature.
– You can also freeze the uncooked lasagna. Remove from the freezer and allow to defrost in the fridge over night.