Lasagne alla Bolognese

Name: Lasagne alla Bolognese
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: For the ragù: 400 g beef mince, 200 g pork mince, 80 g pancetta finely diced, 1 onion + 1 carrot + 1 celery stalk all finely diced, 200 ml dry red wine, 400 g passata or chopped tomatoes, 250 ml whole milk, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper, olive oil; For the béchamel: 80 g butter, 80 g flour, 1 L whole milk, salt, a grating of nutmeg; 300 g fresh egg lasagne sheets (or 250 g dried, blanched); 150 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated; Butter for the dish

Bolognese lasagne with a long 3-hour ragù and nutmeg béchamel, six or seven layers under Parmigiano.

Total time2h 20m

Active time20m

Servings6

DifficultyEasy

Cost$$

Add to my meal plan

⏰

2–3 hour ragù

Glossy, deep brown-red, almost a paste — never a soup

🥛

Milk in the ragù

The Bolognese signature — rounds acid, tightens texture

📚

6–7 layers, no more

The classic count from the Bologna canon

🍴

20-min rest before cutting

Hot slices slide apart; rested slices hold

Ingredients 6 servings

For the ragù: 400 g beef mince, 200 g pork mince, 80 g pancetta finely diced, 1 onion + 1 carrot + 1 celery stalk all finely diced, 200 ml dry red wine, 400 g passata or chopped tomatoes, 250 ml whole milk, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper, olive oil
For the béchamel: 80 g butter, 80 g flour, 1 L whole milk, salt, a grating of nutmeg
300 g fresh egg lasagne sheets (or 250 g dried, blanched)
150 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Butter for the dish

How to make it

1Render the pancetta gently in a heavy pot with a splash of olive oil over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until the fat runs clear, add the chopped soffritto (onion, carrot, celery) and cook 10 minutes until soft and just gilded at the edges, then crumble in both meats and brown them properly — patience: do not stir for the first 3 minutes, then break them up and cook 10 more minutes until the pan bottom is deeply caramelised.
2Pour in the wine, scrape the fond from the pan with a wooden spoon and reduce by half, then add the tomatoes, the milk (the Bolognese signature — it rounds the acid and tightens the texture), the bay leaf and a teaspoon of salt; bring to a bare simmer, partially cover, and cook on the lowest possible heat for at least 2 hours and ideally 3, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if it threatens to dry — the finished ragù should be glossy, deep brown-red and almost a paste, never a soup.
3While the ragù finishes, make the béchamel: melt the butter, whisk in the flour for 2 minutes without colour, pour in the warm milk in a slow stream while whisking and simmer 5 minutes until thick, then season with salt and a generous grating of nutmeg.
4If using dried lasagne sheets blanch them in salted boiling water for a minute and lay on damp tea towels — fresh sheets go in raw — heat the oven to 180°C and butter a 25×35 cm baking dish, then spread a thin layer of béchamel on the bottom, then a layer of pasta, then ragù, then béchamel, then a snowy dusting of Parmigiano, and repeat until you have used everything (six to seven layers is the Bolognese target), finishing with béchamel and a heavier shower of Parmigiano.
5Bake 35–40 minutes until the top is bronzed and bubbling, then rest 20 minutes before cutting — lasagne sliced hot slides apart, lasagne rested holds its layers.