Lasagne alla Bolognese
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 1 hr 45 mins
Active: 45 mins
Makes: 10 to 12 servings
By Aïda Mollenkamp
Who doesn’t like lasagne? Well, there are a lot of bad versions out there (visions of school lunchrooms serving flaccid noodles with oodles of rubbery part-skim mozzarella and chalky ricotta come to mind). Ours is straightforward and hearty, with layers of Ragu alla Bolognese and Béchamel Sauce.
- 10 cups Ragu alla Bolognese
- 1 (9-ounce) box no-boil lasagne noodles
- 12 ounces mild provolone cheese, very thinly sliced
- 4 cups Béchamel Sauce
- 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Heat oven to 375°F. Thoroughly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spread 2 cups of the Bolognese sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of the dish.
- Construct lasagne by layering 4 noodles over sauce. Top noodles with another 2 cups Bolognese sauce and spread it evenly to the edges of the dish; cover with 1/4 (3 ounces) of the sliced provolone cheese. Spread 1 cup of the béchamel sauce in a thin layer, and top with 1/4 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
- Place next layer of lasagne noodles perpendicular to the direction of the first layer, and top with another layer of filling (using same amounts of ingredients as above). Repeat two more times, being sure to place each layer of lasagne noodles perpendicular to the previous layer.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. (You can prepare this recipe ahead and refrigerate for up to 1 day; allow to come to room temperature before baking.) Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until liquids are bubbling. Remove the foil and continue baking until edges are brown and noodles are completely tender, about 20 minutes more. Allow lasagne to stand for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
Beverage pairing: Fattoria Zerbina Torre di Ceparano Sangiovese di Romagna, Italy. It’s always safe to go for Italian wine with Italian food, especially wine from the same region as the dish. In this case, this light, elegant, and perky Sangiovese just vibrates with tart cherry, coffee, and minty notes, and will be a refreshing partner for the dish. If you can’t find Sangiovese di Romagna, then a Chianti or Rosso di Montalcino (both Sangiovese-based) will do nicely.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
Why use those horrible no-boil noodles? They always come out either crunchy or weird-textured, in my experience. If you're going to spend all the time and trouble making 2 sauces from scratch, it's worth it to put in 10 more minutes to par-boil a box of regular dried noodles.
However, in Bologna, where I used to live, sheets of fresh egg pasta were always used for lasagna, never those big wavy-edged dried noodles.
I never have a problem with the no-cook noodles--you just have to remember to adjust the recipe to add extra liquid to "cook" the noodles. However since this recipe is designed to use no cook lasagna noodles, I would hesitate to use the regular kind--it would probably end up much to soupy.
To me, a lasagna has to have ricotta. I once made a recipe very similar to this, and figured "what the hell" and added some ricotta/egg mixture. It came out way to creamy and saucy. I've decided either the ricotta or bechamel, but not both (too much of a good thing, I guess).
I agree with dixieday2 regarding the pre-packaged noodles. I would make the further suggestion to make it truely Bolognese style, make some fresh spinach pasta sheets.
Thanks for the recipe. You've inspired me to make it this weekend.
People, lasagne comes from Emilia, where Bologna is, and in Emilia they make it as described in this recipe -- Ragú and bechamel, not with spinach, ricotta, or any other Italian-American mixture. If your ragú and bechamel are done properly, there's nothing better.
Ever since I demanded an Imperia Pasta Machine for my birthday some decades back, lasagna meant 6" wide homemade noodle sheets and I've rarely tasted any better. To make things simple, a 50-50 mixture of hard wheat and unbleached all purpose flower makes pasta dough a cinch; at least for me. I heartily agree with mangiatore on the ragu and bechamel. I adore a mixture of cheese grated on top! In France, Cantal with French Emmental left little to be desired. In Pa where I now reside, our local Swiss is very reminiscent of the French variety.
Strange that this just popped up. I've been reading everything I can on Lasagna and have come to the conclusion that no-boil noodles are not worth saving 5 minutes of time. They come out with a strange texture at best. Homemade noodles are obviously the best choice but in a pinch whole wheat noodles boiled for approx. 3 minutes and then drained to use in lasagna work the best. I don't enjoy whole wheat pasta but it works excellent in this recipe. I also add a layer of sauteed mushrooms and then a layer of fresh shpinach. Ah! I could go on for a very long time about where to layer what, why spinach only works favorably in this layer, exactly why whole wheat noodles work and whether to braise your ground meats in milk, add tomatoes, red wine, white wine.....but the truth is...bechamel in lieu of ricotta/cottage cheese makes the best lasagne. We just had lasagna for dinner. It was perfecto! However, I just spent an hour working it off. Not fun!
When using frsh noodles, do you need to pre-boil them at all, or should they cook enough in the oven? I have only used frsh noodles once, and found that when I pre-boiled them, the lasagna came out very flimsy. Should I boil them less, or not at all?
I make lasagna like my momma makes it back in Varese Italy, and that is Ragu` and Besciamella (bechamel in Italian). As far as the pasta, all of the above kinds are right. A little more liquid with the no-cook sheets, a tad dryer when using fresh or dry, cooked al dente pasta sheets. The important part are the ingredients and the cooking time. I like texture in my lasagna so I like the uncooked sheets because the retain "al dente" better in this particular recipe. The next day we always cut the leftover lasagna in 1 and 1/2 inch strips and sauteed them, sideways, in a non-stick pan with butter until a delicious, slightly burnt crust would form on both sides of the strips...Delizioso!!
I find that the Barilla no-boil noodles work very well and taste good (not weird in any sense). Cook's Illustrated recommends soaking them first for 5 minutes in hot water and that has worked for me in the past with other recipes. I have used store bought fresh lasagne and the Barilla noodles work just as well.
In Bologna the standard dish is Lasagne Verdi with green noodles (spinach). 10 cups of sauce wil make this into noodle soup. Ragu Bolognese is a very thick sauce, with no garlic in it. This is no more Bologna than Omaha.
I made some homemade lasagna noodles, and I'm wondering if I can use them as-is (since I think they would cook faster than regular dried noodles).
mikebrittain -
For fresh noodles, yes, boil them quickly (more of a blanch) and then shock them in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. They should be al dente, not fully cooked. I then lay out an old tablecloth and lay the sheets to dry to remove excess water. Then, you are ready to go. I agree with the Bolognese version of bolognese sauce (traditional way with milk like Lida Bastianich's) and besciamella sauce. For a real treat....make green lasagna sheets by using cooked spinach that was put through fine grain on a food mill. Now that's how I remember it!
I made this recipe and have to share that after much research on this, I have found my new family favorite! I too was unsure using the no bake noodles but it works beautifully!!. The taste is awesome and well worth the effort ...
Seems like the addition (even though not traditional) of some zucchini "noodles" or some fresh spinach would be a welcome addition to this dish.
briaberger: it's traditional to cook this with spinach noodles, so you're on the right track. buy some spinach lasagne or just add some spinach to the mix. and let us know how it turns out!
this recipe is great but the no boils must go
now a few people mentioned the ricotta style of lasagna
there was a rest. in the boston area yrs ago called the romanoiles (sp) table the owners had a cooking show on PBS and wrote a cookbook by the same name
they made a lasagna with ricotta and 3 layers of sauce the middle being bechamel the other 2 tomatoe and 1 of 3 pasta layers was the spinach
it was to die for if you can find their book at a used book store or at the pub. library grab it
I go to culinary school and we made this in class today. If you use fresh pasta you do not need to cook the noddles at all - they will cook from the moisture of the sauce. We layered bolgnase sauce, sliced fresh mozzerella, pasta, another layer of sauce cheese and pasta, a mixture of marscapone cheese, pecorino, asiago, parmesan, egg yolks parsley and nutmeg (bascially the ends of the cheeses used in class that day), pasta,sauce cheese, pasta, bechamel sauce, grated parm and basil chiffonade. It was delicious.
We used marsala wine and milk in the sauce.
One of the problem with Italian food is that everybody seem to think they can improve on recipes and traditdions. Wrong!! If you are calling it Lasagna then you have to make it like one. Marsala? Zucchini? Mascarpone?
lasagna as far as ital food goes is a recipe that has roots in many regions of the country therefore there are 100 variations of the product Alcuoco
the only rule that is stable is it is a layered product
and the unwritten rule DO not use any jarred (gravy) sauce YUK
Its traditional to add wine to sauce in Italy. Its also traditional for the cook to devise a dish using leftovers around the house - ie panzanella salad, rice balls. We had mascarpone left over so we "tru it in the sauce".