Napoli Lasagna (aka Lasagna Bolognese)
A Neopolitan style lasagna with a slow cooked, sweeter tomato sauce, homemade lasagna sheets, a creamy bechamel sauce, and loads of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Ingredients
The Sauce/Ragu
- 1 medium sweet vidalia onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 lb ground beef/ground pork (2 parts beef to one part pork, but you can play with the ratio and add veal, etc. if preferred), salt and pepper added.
- pureed tomatoes (Pomi, 26 oz. carton or, if you can find, Mutti Tomato Puree 26 oz. jar)
- ½ cup white wine
- salt and pepper (I had to lock up my beloved garlic and red pepper flakes. It has no place here!)
- basil leaves, because why not-
Bechamel
- 4 cups whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cups all-purpose flour (add more if the sauce looks too thin)
- pinch nutmeg
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
Homemade Lasagna Sheets
Instructions
For the Sauce/Ragu
- Season the ground beef/pork with salt and pepper and combine in a bowl to mix the two flavors together. Brown in a little olive oil using a deep sauce pot on a medium heat, until no more pink remains in the meat.
- In the same pot, add a touch more oil and brown the onion, celery,and carrot for 5-7 minutes, then adding the meat back in and combine for a few minutes.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the white wine into the mix; de-glaze the pot, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Once the white wine liquid is almost gone, add the jar/carton of tomato puree.
- As the sauce comes to a boil, adjust salt/pepper levels. I insisted on keep the bay leaf for posterity. Once boiling, lower to a slow simmer and cover for at least 2 hours or more if you feel like taking an afternoon nap.
For the Bechamel
- Warm the milk over medium-low heat, allowing it to stay just beneath a boil.
- Whisk the flour into a bowl of the room warm (not bubbling) melted butter until smooth.
- Place the butter/flour mixture into a sauce pan on a lower heat and add the warmed milk,nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir steadily with a big whisk. It seems impossible at this point that the thin milk mixture will ever thicken, but if you keep at it (it took me almost 15 minutes and some sore forearms), the bechemel will soon thicken and look like a cheese mixture, even though there is no cheese in the mix.
Assembly
- In a lasagna tray/glass baking dish, spoon a little bechemel ("besciamella,"actually) on the bottom of the dish, spreading it around. Add a layer of the meat ragu and then a layer of lasagna strips (trim where necessary and overlapping is a good idea). Repeat, adding more besciamella, ragu, and lasagna.
- Over each layer of besciamella, shave as much Parmigiano-Reggiano as you like; don't lose your mind...this is Italy, not Mulberry Street.
- End with the besciamella layer, topped with the ragu, and more Parmigiano-Reggiano. For good measure, I still added some fresh basil leaves for color and couldn't resist that drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes; no browning cheese blanket step necessary.
Notes
Allow cooling for at least 15-20 minutes, especially since this construction is held together by a besciamella and not by the spackle of ricotta and mozzarella.
Slice into European portions (or just be who you are and eat in big American chunks), and relish the silky smooth amalgamation of besciamella, warming ragu, and homemade pasta.
The mild Parmigiano-Reggiano and subtle notes of nutmeg gently tap you on the shoulder. They say Lasagna is indeed delicious and powerful, even without garlic and strong cheeses, as long as you concoct the dish with a continental balance of authentic Italian flair and...passion.