The meat used for this sauce varies from family to family. Use what you like, but do try to use equal portions of three different types of meat. Pork, Beef, Veal, Turkey, Venison, Chicken, Duck. Doesn't matter. I have historically made with with Duck, Pork and Veal, but since moving back to Italianland, I've found it necessary to switch to the more traditional beef, pork and turkey, and increasing the amount of tomato in the sauce so that it is recognizable to my family.
The groups of ingredients in this recipe are to be added slowly, with cooking time in between, to allow each ingredient to develop its own flavor. Adding them all at once will just give you stew, not Ragu.
This recipe takes a good two hours to make properly, but you can make it a couple of days in in advance, or freeze it for up to three months. Once you have the sauce made, the Lasagna is simple to put together. You can even make the Bechemel Sauce a couple of days in advance and throw all of the cold ingredients together, then either bake or freeze. The Lasagna itself needs to be room temperature and then takes a good two hours of cook and rest time, so plan accordingly, depending on the size of your pan. For my Christmas Dinner, my pan is about 12x18x3 inches, so it will take all of that time to bake and set.
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ lb smoky bacon, diced
2 medium sweet onions
1 lb ground duck breast, or duck sausage, casings removed
1 lb ground veal, or mild veal sausage, casings removed
1 lb ground pork
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram
½ teaspoon fresh rosemary
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 can tomato paste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I use Cento)
1 cup brown meat stock (preferably home made)
1 cup red wine
Scant ¼ cup cream
1 lb cooked pasta, preferably penne or fusilli or,
2-4 boxes no-cook pasta sheets (for the Lasagna)
1/2-1 recipe Bechemel Sauce (see below)
Bechemel Sauce
This is a Tuscan style Lasagna, which eliminates the ricotta and the mozzarella of the Southern Italian style of cooking. Neither cheese is my favorite, and I prefer my Lasagna with lots more layers of pasta, than thick layers and lumps of cheese. If you have ever had Pastistio, a Greek style Lasagna, this is rather more like that in style and uses a similar Bechemel, Meat Sauce and Pasta Layer together. There is a ratio of ingredients here which can be reduced or increased accordingly, but this is the classic "white" or "mother" sauce found everywhere. Depending on how much Lasagna you are making, you may have some sauce left over. Pour it over pasta shapes and bake it for a light mac & cheese, or over blanched broccoli or other vegetable and bake it for au gratin. A little buttered bread crumb on top wouldn't hurt either.
4 TBS Butter
4 TBS Flour
4 cups whole milk
Pinch ground nutmeg
Salt & Pepper
2-4 cups grated parmesan cheese
- In a large sauce pan, melt the butter.
- When it is melted and begins to foam, add the flour and whisk into a paste.
- Allow the paste (or roue) to cook for about 2 minutes, whisking the entire time. You want to cook the flour, but not brown it.
- Add the milk and bring to a slow boil, until the sauce thickens into something a little less than pudding.
- Add 2 cups of the grated cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.
- Add the nutmeg.
- Taste it. This is the only cheese in your Lasagna, unless you choose to add in some shredded fontina between the layer, which is another choice. If it is cheesy enough, add salt and pepper to taste. If it is not, add some additional cheese until you get the taste you want, and then add more salt & pepper. Remember, cheese has a lot of salt in it, so salt last, not first.
- Allow the sauce to cool completely before using. I typically make mine a day or two in advance of using it, and store it in the refridgerator (but don't freeze it).