Bolognese lasagna

Here is lasagna Bolognese: the original recipe for the typical dish of the Emilian tradition!

Lasagna Bolognese is one of the many baked first courses for which Italians are famous abroad and it seems that they have their roots in Etruscan times . Then taken up by the Romans, over the centuries they have undergone many variations until arriving at the layered lasagna, the ones we know, spreading above all to Northern Italy and in particular in the Emilia Romagna region.

Like all famous dishes, each region has its own version, but today we will try to propose the classic Emilian recipe : the one with Bolognese ragù, bechamel and Parmigiano Reggiano. Let's start immediately with the recipe for baked lasagna, but first a curiosity: did you know that November 16th is National Baked Lasagna Day ?

• Recipe
  • Ragu
  • Green browse
  • Bechamel
  • Assembly
• Green or white pasta?
• Quick lasagna with photos
• Conservation
• Origin and history

How to make lasagna bolognese

The traditional lasagna recipe is not complicated, but for convenience we have decided to divide all the preparation phases to ensure that the procedure is clear.

How to prepare Bolognese sauce

• 400 g ground beef pulp
• 150 g of fresh sliced ​​bacon
• 200 g of tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 60 g of carrot
• 60 g of celery
• 60 g of golden onion
• 1 glass of wine (red or white)
• 1 glass of whole milk
• meat broth to taste
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

1. First, prepare the Bolognese ragù following the recipe deposited at the city Chamber of Commerce. Start by chopping or grinding the bacon with a knife and brown it in a pan with oil until it has released its fat. Then add the sauté obtained by finely chopping the onion, carrot and celery and leave for 5 minutes.
2. Then add the minced meat , working it with a wooden spoon and brown over a high heat; when the meat begins to colour, add the wine and let it evaporate .
3. Then add the tomato puree and the concentrate and cook with the broth if it dries out too much. After about an hour, add the milk , continue cooking for another hour, adding salt and pepper. In total it will have to cook for at least 2 hours .

How to prepare spinach puff pastry

• 400 g of flour
• 250 g of spinach
• 2 eggs

1. First of all, prepare the spinach. Sauté them in a pan with a lid without adding seasoning.
2. When the spinach is tender, place it in a colander and mash it well with a slotted spoon so that all the liquid comes out.
3. Let them cool and then chop them finely in a mixer or with a knife.
4. Now move on to the lasagna sheet . On a work surface, make a well in the flour, eggs and spinach, knead until you obtain a smooth dough and wrap it in cling film for 1 hour .
5. After this time, flour a work surface, place your green dough on top and roll it out with a rolling pin or with the appropriate machine .
6. If you use a pasta machine, divide it into 6 equal parts, set the largest number, and start rolling it. After pulling it a couple of times, move on to the next number: proceed in this way until you reach the smallest number. The pasta should have a thickness of about half a millimeter . Then cut out some 15x20cm rectangles .
7. Proceed using this method until all the dough is used up. Meanwhile, boil a pan with salted water.
8. Cook the sheets for 2 minutes then drain them in cold water and transfer them to a cloth to dry.

How to prepare bechamel

• 500 ml of milk
• 50 g of butter
• 50 g of flour
• nutmeg to taste
• salt to taste

1. Now all that remains is to prepare the béchamel sauce . In a saucepan, heat the milk over a very low heat without bringing it to the boil.
2. Then take another saucepan, adjust the heat to minimum and melt the butter.
3. Add the flour and mix with a whisk to avoid lumps forming.
4. When the color of the mixture begins to brown , add the milk slowly and continue mixing with the whisk. Add salt and nutmeg.
5. To check the cooking, insert a spoon into the béchamel: when it covers it, it will be ready.

Composition and assembly of lasagna

1. Take a baking tray, spread a first layer of sauce and place the first sheets of pasta on it. Now cover with the béchamel, then again with the ragù and finish with a sprinkling of parmesan .
2. Repeat the operation until the pan is almost completely filled, finishing with a final layer of béchamel mixed with the ragù and another handful of parmesan. You can make as many layers as you want, it also depends on the size of the baking dish you are using.
3. Cook your pasta in the oven, preheated to 160°C, for about 50 minutes , until a golden crust has formed.

Which pasta to use for lasagna

There are different types of pasta to use to prepare this recipe. First of all, it is possible to make a classic egg puff pastry without spinach : just remove it and proceed as per the recipe. If you prefer a quick recipe, you can go to the supermarket and buy fresh pasta in the refrigerated section, or dried pasta on the shelf. As for the first (the fastest), simply remove it from the package and use it to compose the layers : it will be cooked directly in the oven! Instead, as regards the dry one, you will first have to blanch it in water following the instructions indicated on the package.

Lasagna: the quick recipe

Have you changed your mind after this preparation? Is something simpler better? Know that it is possible to prepare lasagna in 10 minutes, just make some preparations beforehand… or buy them already made. Sheets of egg pasta (not the green ones) are easily found in every supermarket, but you can buy the ragù already made and heat it up or make it 1-2 days before assembling it (better yet prepare it in advance and freeze it in the freezer) . You can also buy the béchamel already made, however it will only take a few minutes so we recommend making it at home.

And here we are, in 10 minutes , at assembly:

1. Place a layer of béchamel sauce at the bottom of the baking dish , then place the sheets of pasta and fill it with the hot ragù and some béchamel sauce (you can add a handful of grated parmesan if you like). Then cover with other sheets of pasta and continue.

2. Continue layering in this way until the last layer where you will put the ragù and the excess bechamel and, if desired, plenty of Parmesan (we like to prepare it with a grater with large holes ).
3. At this point it goes straight into the oven to then be served nice and hot.

Conservation

Store this traditional dish in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Origin and history

The term lasagna derives from the Greek laganon and the Latin laganum , terms having the meaning of floppy, soft . They indicated a flour-based pastry that was cooked and stuffed with meat . It is therefore something very different from what we are used to but which nevertheless conquered the palate of the ancients. In fact, it seems that Cicero was very fond of it.

Taking a leap forward in time, we are between the 6th and 7th centuries, Isidore of Seville describes a dish made up of layers of boiled and fried pasta alternating with meat pie. In the 14th century, cheese appears in the recipe for the first time. Traces of it can be found in the Liber de Coquina , the recipe book of the Angevin court of Naples. It's a shame that the dough is still leavened and boiled: you were almost there! The tomato instead appears for the first time in The Prince of Cooks in 1881.

A bit like meat sauce, therefore, the history of lasagna also starts from Naples. We will have to wait until 1863 to see the recipe arrive in Bologna. In The 14th Century Cookbook , Francesco Zambrini finally talks about layered lasagna. Almost 70 years later, in 1935, Paolo Monelli in Il ghiottone errante proposed the recipe as we know it today, complete with green puff pastry. The merit? Apparently some innkeepers from Bologna modified the recipe by inserting spinach into the egg pasta, forming layers with meat, béchamel and parmesan.

It is strange, however, that there is no trace of lasagna Bolognese in Pellegrino Artusi 's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well . Yet he was a true Emilian! It's difficult to decide whether it was pure jealousy or forgetfulness. The fact is that in 2003 the official recipe was deposited at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce by the Italian Academy of Cuisine and it is precisely the one we proposed to you.

However, there is lasagne of all tastes, from the Neapolitan one with a rich meat-based ragù, fried meatballs, but without bechamel sauce, to the Roman one, where the meat is little in favor of the tomato and the bechamel sauce is replaced by ricotta or pecorino. Then there are vincisgrassi , lasagna from the Marche region, and so on from region to region.

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