A 3 Hour Tour: Lasagne Bolognese

Almost every Lasagne Bolognese I’ve ever had includes ricotta and about a pound of grated mozzarella — you know, the Italian-American version. It weighs about 15 lbs. when you put it in the oven and you’ll be eating the leftovers for days (and paying the price later on the treadmill).
After our recent trip to Italy, it’s abundantly clear that Lasagne Bolognese doesn’t have to be a gut bomb. We had a fabulous lasagna at a farmhouse in Tuscany and there was not a shred of mozzarella in sight.

I tackled a Lasagne Bolognese yesterday using this Mario Batali recipe in NY Mag. What it has in common with the Italian-American version is that it does take 2-3 hours to make from start to finish…so read the recipe, know what you’re getting yourself into and plan ahead.

Here’s what you need to know — there’s a fair amount of prep/chopping, since the sauce includes onion, garlic, carrot, celery and pancetta. The carrots and garlic bring sweetness, the pancetta a porky goodness that jarred sauced can’t match. (Yes, I usually make the other version with a jar of organic marinara from Trader Joe’s).

The recipe calls for veal and pork. We don’t do veal, so it’s ground beef. Don’t make it too lean, you want the fat in there. Also note, the recipe doesn’t say to actually drain the meat once you’ve browned it. I drained it and then added back about half. Fat is flavor. Too much fat is a clogged artery.

What was so extraordinary (to me) about this sauce is that it only includes 8 oz. of tomato paste and also a cup of milk. Ok, ok, if you’ve been making it this way your entire life, there’s nothing so extraordinary about it, but like I said, I grew up on the ricotta/mozz bomb version. And btw – this cooks for 1-1.5 hrs.

Then, boil the noodles in salted water and make the bechamel — sorry, no photos. Wished I had fresh pasta – that would have kicked it up a notch in terms of authenticity and in flavor, I’m sure. I also laid the noodles out on a baking sheet after boiling them. No more fighting with sticky noodles and losing half the batch.

Then layer the ragu, the noodles, bechamel and parm in a prepared 9×13 dish. Bake it at 375 for 45 minutes until golden brown on top.

Here’s the finished product just out of the oven. Let it sit at least 20 minutes before diving in.

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