Our Cookbook

Italian

Lasagne alla bolognese

Baked lasagne built on bolognese ragù, layered with béchamel, Parmigiano-Reggiano and green spinach egg pasta sheets. Best made over two days.

  • YieldServes 8
  • Prep1h 15m
  • Cook4h 40m
  • Effortproject

Ragù

  • 1 large batch ragù alla bolognese, ideally made the day before (this lasagne uses roughly 1kg mince — about triple the base recipe)
    Ragù alla bolognese Serves 4

    Ingredients

    • 0.5 tbsp olive oil
    • 150g pancetta, finely chopped
    • 50g carrot (1 medium), finely chopped
    • 50g celery (1 medium), finely chopped
    • 50g onion (1 medium), finely chopped
    • 300g beef mince
    • 120ml dry white wine
    • 120ml chicken stock (low-salt)
    • 300g passata
    • 240ml full-fat milk
    • salt and black pepper
    • 500g tagliatelle, to serve

    Method

    1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot and gently sauté the pancetta, carrot, celery and onion for 5-10 minutes until softened but not browned.
    2. Add the beef mince and cook until browned, breaking it up as you go.
    3. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half.
    4. Add the passata and stock, stir well, cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours.
    5. Uncover, stir in the milk and simmer uncovered for a further 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
    6. Cook the tagliatelle, drain and toss through the ragù to serve.
    Full recipe

Béchamel

  • 70g unsalted butter
  • 70g plain flour
  • 1 litre full-fat milk
  • 0.25 tsp grated nutmeg
  • salt and pepper

Spinach egg pasta sheets

  • 200g spinach
  • 300g Italian 00 flour
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 1 medium egg yolk

To assemble

  • Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (as needed for layering)

Method

Ragù (make the day before)

  1. Make a large batch of ragù alla bolognese, scaled up to around 1kg beef mince, then cool and refrigerate overnight.

Spinach pasta (make the day before)

  1. Wilt the spinach in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, drain, cool and squeeze very dry.
  2. Blend the spinach with the eggs and yolk to a smooth purée.
  3. Make a well in the flour and work in the spinach mixture with a fork, then knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Wrap and refrigerate; remove 30 minutes before use.

Béchamel

  1. Melt the butter, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking, to a roux.
  2. Whisk in the milk in four additions, add the nutmeg and season. Cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then set aside.

Assemble and bake

  1. Roll the pasta out thinly, cut to fit the dish, then blanch 2-3 sheets at a time for 1 minute and dry on a clean towel.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Spread a thin layer of ragù over the base of the dish.
  3. Layer pasta sheet, ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano, and repeat until used up (at least 6 pasta layers), finishing with ragù, béchamel and cheese.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes until golden, then rest 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Traditional lasagne alla bolognese uses green (spinach) egg pasta sheets, but dried lasagne sheets work if you’d rather skip the homemade pasta. For a softer bake, La Cucina Italiana’s original uses a gentler 170ºC for 20-25 minutes.

Sub-recipes

Ragù alla bolognese

Serves 4

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot and gently sauté the pancetta, carrot, celery and onion for 5-10 minutes until softened but not browned.
  2. Add the beef mince and cook until browned, breaking it up as you go.
  3. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half.
  4. Add the passata and stock, stir well, cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours.
  5. Uncover, stir in the milk and simmer uncovered for a further 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Cook the tagliatelle, drain and toss through the ragù to serve.