Estate Comforts
Lasagna Bolognese
The Strategy:
To simplify your preparation, opt for fresh pasta sheets, now conveniently found in your grocer's refrigerated section, making assembly swift when you're building a classic lasagna ahead of your guests' arrival. These tender fresh sheets offer a delightful textural counterpoint, readily embracing rich sauces and creamy cheeses to ensure every bite is a harmonious blend of savory goodness. Serve your magnificently layered lasagna after a brief rest, promising a truly comforting and impressive centerpiece for your dining table.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced, about 1 ½ cups
- 2 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and diced, about 1 cup
- 3 medium celery ribs, diced, about 1 cup
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced, about 2 tablespoons
- 3 pounds ground beef (chuck, brisket, or ground round)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 cups tomato paste
- 3 cups red wine
- 1 quart beef stock
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, ½ stick
- 1 large white onion, peeled and diced, about 1 cup
- ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1 cup
- 2 (8.8-ounce) packages fresh lasagna noodles, about 12 (8 x 4-inch) sheets
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1 cup
Instructions
- Pour the olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook until soft, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the beef to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the beef browns, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Reduce the heat to medium, pour in the red wine, and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 8 to 10 minutes more.
- Pour in enough stock to just cover the beef. Add the thyme and oregano. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce. Continue simmering the sauce, adding more beef stock as it reduces. The idea is to create a rich depth of flavor by reducing and then adding stock. This will take you 30 minutes or more for a rich, thick sauce.
- Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onion in the butter until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions. Stir in oregano. Slowly whisk in the milk. (This process will go faster if you warm the milk in a separate saucepan.)
- Whisk until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Remove from the heat.
- Preheat your oven to 350°.
- Ladle enough Bolognese sauce into a deep lasagna pan (or an 11 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish) to coat the bottom.
- Cover the sauce with lasagna noodles, trimming the sheets to fit into your pan. Ladle sauce over the top of the pasta. Spoon béchamel sauce over the Bolognese sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Continue layering until you fill the pan. Finish with a pasta sheet, Bolognese sauce, and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the casserole with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake until the lasagna is bubbling, and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes more.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and rest for 15 minutes before you cut it into squares.
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The Heart of the Table
This is arguably the crown jewel of Italian comfort food. It commands time, respect, and a commitment to classical technique, but rewards that effort with a wildly impressive, gravity-defying centerpiece capable of commanding the attention of an entire formal dining room.
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Use a sharp, thin-bladed knife and a sturdy metal spatula to extract perfectly square portions. Serve on dark plates to highlight the bright contrast between the white béchamel, the yellow pasta, and the dark red meat sauce.
- THE POUR: A Barbaresco or a high-end Chianti Classico Riserva. You require a wine with substantial structure and acidity to cut through the extreme richness of the béchamel and the fatty depth of the beef.
- THE VIBE: Deeply traditional, luxurious, and highly celebratory. This is not casual Tuesday night fare; it is a profound expression of culinary generosity reserved for weekends and beloved guests.
