Lasagna bolognese (adapted from smitten kitchen)
Lasagna is at once both a simple dish and a complex dish. Tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and ground beef (unless vegetarian) slapped between layers of wide flat pasta. Boil the pasta, open a jar of sauce, use a spoon (or a finger) to smooth each layer, bake for half an hour to 45 minutes in the oven. Nothing so difficult that a poor college student couldn’t manage - besides, assembly is fun! But lasagna, more than most dishes, lends a sort of blank canvas appeal that can undergird a swath of possible final masterpieces. Sauce? Pick a sauce - marinara, bolognese, puttanesca, etc. Plus a bechamel sauce? Sure, why not. Spinach, maybe, if for vegetarians. Sans ricotta cheese? Sure. And pretty much any kind of meat could nestle its way in between the layers of noodle. Everyone’s got their own go-to recipe. And depending on the members of the peanut gallery: a soft gooey lawn of melted mozzarella on top; or perhaps they like a crunchy lid; and one could always add a few sprinkles of bread crumbs.
Bolognese sauce
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 cans tomato paste (I think 6 oz. each?)
- 3 C red wine (I used a $12 cabernet sauvignon, but take your pick)
- Water as needed
- 3 bay leaves
- A boatload of Italian seasoning
- 15 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Béchamel sauce
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- Salt and pepper
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp nutmeg
To assemble
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 1 2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in large (5-quart+) pot. Blend the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until you get a mixture that looks like rabbit food/finely chopped. Add the rabbit food mixture to the pot and season with a bunch (more than you think) of salt and pepper. Allow the vegetables to brown REAL GOOD, about 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Add the ground beef, add more salt and pepper, and brown the beef. Brown it REAL GOOD, ‘cause this is also where the flavor gets developed. Add the two cans of tomato paste and mix well, Let the mixture go for a few minutes, then deglaze with the red wine. When the wine has reduced by about half, cover with water, add the seasonings, and stir. Let the sauce simmer for about 4 hours, adding a cup of water and stirring periodically to keep things going.
Boil a large pot of water and cook the lasagna noodles.
For the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a medium pot. Add in the flour and stir. Drizzle in milk little by little into the butter and flour mixture over the course of a few minutes. Then add the garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes while stirring frequently.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9×13-inch or equivalent rectangular baking dish, drizzle a little bit of olive oil. Add your first layer of cooked noodles. Ladle 1 cup bolognese sauce over the noodles, spreading it evenly. Drizzle 1/2 cup béchamel over the bolognese, but evenness isn’t as important with the bechamel Sprinkle the layer with 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Repeat this process — pasta + 1 cup bolognese + 1/2 cup béchamel + 1/3 cup parmesan — three more times, then add one more layer of pasta. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Top with bruschetta, just for kicks (the flavors complement oh-so-nicely).
