Pasta and Pasta Sauce Recipes
Lasagna Bolognese
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 ounces prosciutto*
- 4 ounces pancetta
- 2 celery stalked, trimmed and chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled, trimmed and chopped
- 2 onions, peeled, trimmed and chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste, diluted in a little water
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 4 cups dry red wine
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
White Sauce (Besciamella)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups light cream, heated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Unsalted butter for baking dish
- 2 to 3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- About 1 pound cooked and drained lasagna noodles
Instructions
Bolognese Sauce
- Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add the ground beef, prosciutto, pancetta, celery, carrot and onion and sauté , stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste diluted with water, the tomato puree and the wine. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The sauce should be very thick and richly condensed after the long simmering. check from time to time if it needs more liquids and add wine or water as needed.
- Season with salt and pepper.
White Sauce
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until it is well incorporated, about 3 minutes.
- Slowly and gradually stir in the hot cream and cook, stirring often, until quite thick and the flour has lost all of its raw taste, about 8 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and a mere pinch of nutmeg. Remove from heat.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- To assemble the lasagna, spoon a thin layer of Bolognese sauce at the bottom of a 9 x 12 x 3 inch baking dish that has been lightly buttered with unsalted butter. Add a layer of cooked lasagna noodles. Top with Bolognese, then a layer of white sauce, then a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering process, beginning with the noodles and ending with the cheese. Dot the top with bits
of unsalted butter.
- Bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, then cut into 8 or 12 portions.
Notes
* I have to plug my favorite prosciutto here. San Daniele, from the town of the same name in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, is sweeter and earthier than regular prosciutto, and connoisseurs often prefer it to the celebrated Parma. San Daniele now is available in this country, and a good one is being sold at Wegmans in Manalapan. It's what I used in this recipe.
Since my lasagna was to be cooked well ahead and kept warm in the oven over several hours, I made my last layering in the lasagna process a thin film of meat sauce. This kept the lasagna from drying out.
Attribution
Posted by Don from NJ at Recipe Goldmine 9/25/2001 7:34 am.
Source: Asbury Park Press