Lasagna Bolognese

Method

1. Prepare the ragù: choose a piece of beef with some fat (scamone or fettina) and cut it into small dice with a knife. Alternatively, ask your butcher to chop it with a knife.
2. Heat clarified butter in a large pan over high heat. Add the diced meat and brown it well, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Deglaze the pan with red wine (Sangiovese or similar), scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Reserve the deglazing liquid.
4. Finely chop carrot, celery, and onion. (The chef uses a food processor for speed, but traditionally they are chopped by hand.)
5. In the same pan, melt a little butter and sauté the chopped vegetables until soft. Add a good spoonful of tomato concentrate and cook for a minute.
6. Return the browned meat to the pan. Add the reserved deglazing liquid, 4 cloves, salt, pepper, and a couple of ladles of water or homemade meat broth. Stir well.
7. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and let the ragù simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
8. Meanwhile, make the besciamella: melt 40 g butter in a saucepan. Stir in 40 g flour and cook for a minute over low heat to form a roux (do not let it brown). Gradually whisk in 500 ml milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens. (Chef’s tip: to make the flour more digestible, cook for the full 20 minutes; rub a piece of butter over the surface to prevent a skin.)
9. Prepare the pasta: for every 100 g of flour, use 1 large whole egg. Knead the dough until smooth, then wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the dough with a pasta machine, gradually reducing the thickness to a thin sheet (about setting 7 on a typical machine). Cut the sheets into rectangles the size of your baking dish.
10. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the pasta sheets in for a few seconds (they will cook very quickly), then immediately transfer them to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well and lay them flat on a clean, damp kitchen towel.
11. Assemble the lasagna: spread a thin layer of besciamella on the bottom of a baking dish (ceramic or metal). Place a line of pasta sheets to cover the bottom. Spread a layer of ragù, then a layer of besciamella, and sprinkle generously with grated Parmigiano Reggiano (24 months aged). Repeat the layers – pasta, ragù, besciamella, Parmigiano – until all ingredients are used, finishing with a top layer of pasta, a final coating of besciamella, and a heavy dusting of Parmigiano. Dot with small knobs of butter.
12. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (non‑ventilated, top and bottom heat). Bake the lasagna for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.