Bolognese/Béchamel Stacked lasagna
A Sunday favourite at our house, lasagna’s deep dish flavours make it a winning dish. It doesn’t matter who you are, chances are you eat lasagna. It takes on many faces for many cultures and everyone puts a spin on it. Traditionally Napoletanos claim that they invented this dish, but when in Italy the best comes from Emilia-Romania. Of course, no one could beat my nonna Emilia stuffed rows of tiny meatballs, cubes of cheese, dried sausage and salami, eggs and endless parmesan cheese.
Every Italian kitchen has a version of this casserole of layered pasta, sauce and a variety of other ingredients. My absolute favourite is a simple one made with layers of a meat sauce, cheese, egg noodles. Then, I top it with a thick cheesey béchamel. I make a good sauce using lamb as a base to flavour it. The ground beef starts by sauteing onions, celery and carrots; this flavour base provides layers with richness. At the top of this lasagna the béchamel keeps the dish moist and flavourful. This is a crowd-pleaser.
Pulse the onions and then follow with the celery.
Next the carrots go in for a fine shredding.
Add the soffritto to the browned meat and let it cook for a while.
You can see how the soffritto melts into the meat.
Next I hit it with some good red wine.
Cube the mozzarella and the asiago.
The first layer of meat and cheese.
The second layer is ricotta.
The second layer of meat and cheese and the pan is almost full.
The last layer is the bechamel..
After 50 minutes it comes out of the oven and you add more sauce before putting it back in the oven.
When you let it sit, it cuts perfectly.
Bolognese/Béchamel Stacked lasagna
A one dish crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef lamb, chicken, pork, your choice
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 large carrots
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup good red wine
- 2 cups cubed mozzarella cheese
- 250 grams ricotta
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp minced parsley
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cubed asiago cheese
- 6 cups marinara sauce
- 1 package oven ready lasagna egg noodles I use Molisana
The Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
Instructions
The Lasagna Prep
-
Start by cooking your marinara sauce. See recipe notes for link to sauce making.
I added chunks of lamb to the sauce for extra flavours.
Take the olive oil and put it in a pan. Add the ground beef and start to brown it. Add in the garlic, salt and pepper this and add the Italian seasoning.
Meanwhile, peel the carrots and onion.
Add the onion to a food processor and pulse.
Follow with the celery and carrots.
You want this fine. It is our soffritto and you want it to melt into the meat and sauce.
Once the beef has browned, add the soffritto and cook until all the water is absorbed.
Now add the wine and let it simmer.
You want this meat mixture thick.
In a small bowl mix the ricotta, eggs, 1/4 cup parmesan and parsley. Combine this well.
The Bechamel Sauce
-
Place the butter in a sauce pan,
When it melts add the flour and let it cook a minute.
Whisk continuously.
Slowly add the milk and continue whisking.
Put in the parmesan and parsley.
Whisk until it comes to a boil.
Continue whisking until it thickens.
The Assembly
-
Take 1 a cup of marinara sauce and put it on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. It's the sauce that cooks the noodles and keeps the lasagna moist.
Next put a layer of lasagna noodles on the pan. Nestle them together and ensure that there are no gaps.
Put 1/2 a cup of marinara over the noodles and then spread 1/2 the meat mixture over this.
Spread 1/2 your cubes of both cheeses over this.
Now, put a second layer of lasagna noodles alternating the direction of the last layer. ( If you laid them horizontally, now lay them vertically)
No sauce over this layer. Spread the ricotta mixture and even it out.
Place the third layer of lasagna noodles, once again altering the direction.
Pour another 1/2 cup of marinara over this layer and spread the remainder of the meat and cheese cubes.
Place the last layer of noodles, once again altering the direction of the noodles.
Now it's time to pour the bechamel sauce over the lasagna. Spread it out.
I take a butter knife and run it all around the perimeter of the pan.
Place a piece of parchment over the pan and then tightly seal with aluminum foil.
This goes into a 350 F oven for 50 minutes.
Take the foil and parchment off and add 1/2 a cup of marinara over the bechamel.
Take a butter knife and poke a few holes over the surface, inserting the knife almost to the bottom.
Place back in the oven uncovered for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, cover with parchment and tin foil and let it sit one hour before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Marinara sauce: https://recipesatmytable.com/marinara-sauce-passata-making/
A good read on this dish: https://www.dailyprogress.com/lasagna-from-italy-to-america/article_ff967fe8-f951-5bfe-b669-154371e44f5c.html
Years later and I am still making this lasagna. It’s always a hit and it impressed my Nona ❤️
You are so right!! It is so mouthwatering and delicious. All the nonnas love it.
Have a wonderful day!!