Ada Boni’s Lasagne Bolognesi

This is a big effort, but yields a lot of lasagne for freezing or for a crowd, and personally I find it very soothing to make the noodles. I generally make the meat sauce a day ahead, and sometimes the besciamella  also. Using a food processor to chop the vegetables very finely makes a smoother sauce. Adapted from Ada Boni’s wonderful 1969 “Italian Regional Cooking”

This recipe makes exactly one 10x17 lasagne pan

Bolognese Ragu

12 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2/3 cup of bacon (about 4-5 strips), finely chopped
1 1/2 LB of ground meat - I like a combination of beef and pork sausage. Ada also used some chicken livers
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk or half and half

Heat half of the butter and all of the olive oil in a deep Dutch oven. Sauté the vegetables and bacon gently over low heat until the vegetables soften.  Push them the the side and add the meat and sauté gently until they begin to brown. Add the wine and cook gently until it evaporates. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and stock, cover and cook slowly for 90 minutes, adding a little more stock if needed. After 90 minutes add the cream and continue cooking until it is reduced. Add the remaining butter.


Besciamella Sauce

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups hot milk

Melt the butter in a pan with a heavy bottom. Stir in the flour and salt to make a roux. Cook gently for a few minutes without browning it, and then gradually add the hot milk, whisking constantly.  Continue cooking until the sauce is thick and smooth. Take it off the heat and beat it lightly. Can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator with a piece of cling wrap laid directly on the top to keep a skin from forming.


Spinach lasagne noodles

About 8-10 oz of cooked spinach, chopped
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

About 8 oz grated Parmesan Cheese for assembly

Wrap the spinach in a clean dish cloth and squeeze As much water out as possible. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a ball of pasta. Knead the ball on the counter until it gets smooth.  Wrap in cling wrap and let it rest at least a half an hour. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Divide in four parts. Roll out each part one at a time, Dusting each strip with flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the pasta roller. I like to roll out the noodles to the next-to-last setting on the pasta machine. Cut the noodles to slightly smaller than needed to fit your pan and place them on a flannel sheet. You should get about 7 or 8 layers of noodles.

Assembling the lasagne: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 350. Spoon a little meat sauce on the bottom of a 10x17 baking pan or brunch with melted butter. Cook one layer of noodles at a time, draining each and running under cold water and patting dry on a clean dish towel and then laying it in the pan. Spread thinly with besciamella, then meat sauce, then sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat until the pan is full.  The top layer should be a layer of noodles sprinkled with Parmesan. Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Lasagne hold together much better if you put it in the fridge and heat it up and eat it the next day. You can do this either before or after you bake it. Unless I’m making this for a party, I usually cut it up into meal-sized portions, wrap it up, and freeze it.