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ITALIAN RECIPES

Lasagne

Lasagna Bolognese

Ingredients:

1 lb lasagna noodles
Ragù:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound veal, ground
1 pound pork, ground
4 ounces pancetta, ground
1 8-ounce can tomato paste
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Béchamel:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation:

Ragù: In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are translucent. Add veal, pork, and pancetta to the vegetables, and brown over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together.

Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, thyme, and 1 cup water, and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1.1/2 hours (if the ragù becomes too thick, add a little more water). Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Béchamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the flour, and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until it is just about to boil. Add the milk to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is very smooth.

Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg. Boil the lasagna a few sheets at a time in lightly salted water until they are al dente, remove them with a strainer, and drain them; while they're cooking preheat your oven to 375 F (180 C). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with melted butter or oil, and layer in the following order from the bottom: ragù, pasta, béchamel, and grated cheese (saving about 1 cup béchamel for last topping), making 3 to 4 layers of pasta, finishing with ragù, béchamel, and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled over the top.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.

Lasagna with Ricotta

Ingredients:

1/2 pound mozzarella, sliced
1 pound pork shoulder
1 pound Lasagne noodles
The Sauce:
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large can tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons sugar, optional
The Ricotta Filling:
2 pounds ricotta
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Once you have assembled the ingredients, heat the oil in a pot, add the pork, season it with salt and pepper, and brown the meat thoroughly on all sides. Remove the meat to a platter, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Add the onion, garlic, and ground beef, season the mixture with salt and pepper, and cook until the beef is well browned. Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, water, sugar, and baking soda. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pork and continue simmering for an hour, or until the pork is fork-tender.

Next, see to the ricotta filling: Combine the ricotta with the cheese and the parsley, season the mixture to taste, and set it aside. Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a half cup of sauce, put down a layer of pasta and a layer of ricotta, and continue alternating the pasta with sauce and ricotta. Cover the last layer of pasta with sauce and mozzarella slices. Serve the pork as a second course.

Lasagna with Speck and Pears

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (220 g) fresh pasta, in sheets (store-bought will be fine)
4/5 cup (200 ml) béchamel sauce
1/4 pound (100 g) speck in fairly thin slices (see note)
2 Williams pears, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
1/4 pound (100 g) mozzarella
1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
A healthy pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Begin by setting a pot of water to boil and heating your oven to 360 F (180 C). Lightly salt the water, separate the sheets of pasta, and cook them for three minutes. Remove them with a strainer and lay them flat on a clean cloth (not overlapping or the sheets will stick).

Butter a baking dish pro­portionate to the volume of ingredients, or more than one if you are making individual portions. For example, heart-shaped portion-sized (4 inches, or 10 cm across) baking dishes would be ideal for Valentine's Day. Cut the strips of speck crosswise to make matchsticks of them. Note: Speck is a smoked raw (or at the most very slightly cooked) ham from the Südtirol.

In its absence I would use either prosciutto, pancetta, or -- if I couldn't find either -- bacon, slicing the bacon into match­sticks and then crisping them and draining away excess fat. Drain the mozzarella and squeeze it gently between your hands to remove as much serum as you can. Dice it finely. Season the béchamel sauce to taste with salt and cayenne pepper, going easy on the pepper. Peel the pears, quarter them, core them, and slice them thinly.

Spread a couple of spoonfuls of béchamel sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish or dishes completely with pasta (you may need to cut the sheets to do so). Cover the pasta with a little béchamel sauce, some mozzarella, some of the speck and the pears, and repeat the sequence until all is used up. Cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake the lasagna for 20 minutes, removing the foil after 10.

Buon appetito!

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