Lasagne alla Bolognese
Emilia-Romagna · pasta · serves 8 · 300 min total · hard
Bologna's lasagne uses green spinach pasta, six or seven thin layers, and ragù — never thick sheets, never tomato sauce alone.
Ingredients
- 500 g green spinach pasta sheets
- 1.5 L ragù alla bolognese (see Tagliatelle al Ragù recipe)
- 80 g butter
- 80 g flour
- 1 L whole milk
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
- Make besciamella: melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 2 minutes. Whisk in warm milk in a steady stream. Cook 10 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and nutmeg.
- Briefly parboil green pasta sheets in salted water (about 30 seconds for fresh). Lay them on damp cloths to drain.
- In a buttered baking dish: thin layer of ragù, sheet of pasta, ragù, drizzle of besciamella, dust of Parmigiano. Repeat 6–7 layers — the more layers the better.
- Top with besciamella and a thick coat of Parmigiano. Dot with butter.
- Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 40 minutes until bubbling with a deep gold crust.
- Rest 20 minutes before cutting. The layers need to set.