Lasagna Bolognese

If you've been reading my posts for a while, you know that I love this Bolognese sauce and think this one is good, too. And I really, really love lasagna...but I've only posted short cut recipes like this or that (and no recipe is as good as my brother Eric's).

So you can imagine my delight to come upon a recipe for Lasagna Bolognese: the perfect marriage.

It's a little different than what I think of as a traditional lasagna. It calls for only Parmesan cheese and includes a bechamel sauce, which I'd never made before. And it wasn't as saucy as I generally prefer, but that's an easy fix...make more sauce!

And, let's be clear: this is no short cut recipe. Like any lasagna, it was a little labor-intensive, but was a perfect Sunday-Funday recipe and dinner. (Oh, and I had to convert the original grams to ounces and pounds...so the measurements aren't exact, but they're close enough.)

Ingredients:
FOR THE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

• 2 slices of bacon, diced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• Olive oil
• 2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 lb. ground beef beef
• 1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped

FOR THE LASAGNE

• 8 oz. dried lasagna sheets (I used the no-cook noodles and they were great)
• 1 large ripe tomato, sliced

FOR THE BECHAMEL SAUCE

• ½ a small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 C milk
• a sprig of fresh parsley
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 6 black peppercorns
• optional: 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. plain flour
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese (I don't have a scale so I finely grated a bunch of cheese and used about 1/2 C in the sauce)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Start the Bolognese...

1. Place a large saucepan on a medium to high heat. Add 2 lugs of olive oil, your sliced bacon and the oregano and cook and stir until the bacon is lightly golden. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the vegetables to the pan.
2. Stir occasionally for around 15 minutes, or until softened and lightly colored then stir in the beef and the tomatoes. Add water to tomato can until about half full then add to the pan. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chopped basil stalks to the pan. (Save the leaves for later).
3. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer with a lid on and slightly askew for 1 hour, stirring every now and again. Take the lid off and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks, and if you think it’s starting to dry out, add a splash of water. 

While the sauce is cooking, start the bechamel...

1. Add the onion, milk, parsley, nutmeg and black peppercorns and bay leaf (if using) to a pan on a medium heat and gently bring to the boil – keep a close eye on it as milk can boil suddenly. Strain the milk through a sieve, discarding anything left behind. Melt the butter in another pan on a medium-low heat. Mix in the flour.
2. Start adding the strained milk, a ladleful at a time, stirring each addition in before adding more. When you have a smooth white sauce, bring to the boil then simmer for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and finely grate in most of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well then season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Put the lasagna together...

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the Bolognese sauce from the heat, then tear and stir in any larger basil leaves, keeping the smaller ones aside for later. Have a taste of the sauce, and season with a little more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
2. Spoon a third of your Bolognese sauce into the bottom of an earthenware ovenproof dish (approximately 9" x 13"). Follow with a layer of lasagna sheets and another third of your Bolognese sauce, then spoon over a third of your white sauce. Top with another layer of lasagna sheets. Spoon over the rest of the Bolognese sauce and another third of the white sauce.
3. Finish with a final layer of lasagna sheets and top with the rest of the white sauce and finely grate over the remaining Parmesan. Top with some slices of tomato, scatter over the small basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Cover with foil, place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. After that, remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes until the lasagna is bubbling and golden. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Source: Kung Food