Lasagna Bolognese: A Labor of Love

I took a stab at making lasagna bolognese the other night, which is the laborious product of two already laborious recipes: lasagna and bolognese sauce. A quick note about recipes here, in general: I almost never follow recipes! I research the general item I'm attempting to make and take bits from here and a method from there, and pretty soon I end up with a de facto original recipe. I will, however, give credit where it is due if I post someone else's recipe. That said, here is my recipe for this somewhat ridiculously indulgent meal, Lasagna Bolognese:



LASAGNA BOLOGNESE

Lasagna Bolognese:

• 1 lb. uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 recipe Bolognese sauce, recipe follows
• 1 recipe Bechamel sauce, recipe follows
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated (more, if desired)
• Grated parmigiano, for topping the lasagna

Bolognese Sauce:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil (or enough to just coat the bottom of the pan)
• 4 slices bacon (you can also use pancetta)
• 1 Vidalia onion, grated
• 3 medium carrots, grated
• 1 stalk celery, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 29oz. can Hunts tomato sauce (or 2 15 oz. cans)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano
• salt and pepper to taste

Bechamel Sauce:

• 4 tbsp. butter
• 4 tbsp. cornstarch (heaping)
• 4 cups milk
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to convection 400 degrees F. (If you do not have a convection oven, bake the lasagna on the bottommost shelf, or away from the cooking element.)
2. In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon in olive oil until the bacon has rendered and become crispy. Remove bacon and save for snacking. :)
3. Add grated onions, carrots, and celery (note that you can also run these through a food processor), and cook until onions and carrots have slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds, taking care not to brown the garlic.
4. Add meats to the pot and increase heat slightly to brown them. Using a whisk for this step (yes, you read correctly), cook over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until browned. (The whisk will break up the meat evenly and produce a homogenous mixture, allowing the meat to brown perfectly.)
5. Once meat is sufficiently browned, deglaze with white wine. Return to using a spoon, and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Add tomato sauce, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until tomato sauce has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. (You could use a few heaping tbsps. of tomato paste instead, but I like the flavor of Hunts tomato sauce.)
7. Add cream and stir well. (Purists will insist on milk, but I had cream, so that's what I used.)
8. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, at least 4 hours. (Finish the sauce with grated parmigiano just before assembling the lasagna.)
9. About 20 minutes before the bolognese has finished simmering, melt butter in a medium saucepan and cook until it foams slightly. Add flour and whisk well, until the mixture, called a roux, begins to coalesce (almost like a dough). Add 1 cup milk and stir until the roux has dissolved into the milk. Add remaining milk and cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens (this will take several minutes). Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat immediately, and season with freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
10. To assemble the lasagna: Spoon a few ladles of sauce onto the bottom of a deep 13x9 baking dish. Top with UNCOOKED lasagna noodles, taking care to overlap the noodles slightly. You may have to break a few noodles in half or snip them a bit depending on the size of the noodle you are using and the shape of the pan, don't fret it. Add another layer (a few ladles) of bolognese. Drizzle about 1/3 of the total bechamel sauce on top of the bolognese and top with 1 cup grated mozzarella. Repeat until all of the sauces and lasagna noodles have been used, topping the final layer of sauce with a bit of parmigiano. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and allow the lasagna to remain in the oven for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. (Note: you may want to open a window while doing this, as the parmigiano may smoke a bit.) Remove the lasagna and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with a glass of your favorite wine.