Christmas Lasagna

Method

1. Prepare the soffritto: finely chop carrot, onion, and celery. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pot or coccio on the wood-fired stove and sauté the vegetables until softened.
2. Add the meats: skinless sausage, a piece of beef, a piece of beef rib, pork belly, lardo, pork rind, and guanciale, all cut into pieces. Season with coarse salt and black pepper. Brown the meats, stirring occasionally.
3. Let the sauce simmer slowly for 2.5–3 hours, adjusting the heat to keep a gentle bubble. The sauce should become rich and thick.
4. While the sauce cooks, prepare homemade meatballs (recipe not shown) and set aside.
5. Preheat the wood-fired oven to high heat (around 250°C or 500°F).
6. Butter a large baking dish. Lay a first layer of lasagna sheets, slightly overlapping.
7. Spread a generous layer of the meat sauce over the pasta.
8. Add pieces of mozzarella, dollops of ricotta, a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 30 months), and a few meatballs.
9. Press down gently with your hands.
10. Repeat layers two more times: pasta, sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, Parmigiano, meatballs. End with a final layer of pasta.
11. Cover the top layer with remaining sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and dot with small pieces of butter.
12. Bake in the wood-fired oven for 30–40 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling.
13. Let the lasagna rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve hot.