Lasagne Bolognese

As promised (although a few weeks late, a function of life, kids, the holidays, you know, the usual), the recipe for Lasagne Bolognese.  This has got to be the best Lasagne hands down, if  I do say so myself.

Lasagne Bolognese is a nice alternative to the typical holiday meal or Sunday dinner.  Just add a salad and you’re set.   The sauce can be made a day in advance, which helps shorten time in the kitchen.

What makes this recipe so delicious are the layers of Béchamel.  This Lasagne recipe hails from the Emilia Romagna region of Tuscany where it is the perfect winter comfort food. Personally, I could eat it any time of the year.

There’s no Ricotta in this Lasagne.  Also missing is the plain tomato sauce .  After eating Lasagne without the Ricotta, you won’t want to eat it any other way.    The Béchamel and the Parmigiano-Reggiano combined with my Bolognese ragu is what makes it special and decadent.  It just melts in your mouth.

Barilla No Boil Lasagne Noodles are my favorite.

If using parboiled noodles, lightly wet them first.  This helps insure that you won’t get any hard noodles.  I like using the parboiled noodles by Barilla.  The Barilla noodles are nice and thin and come out perfect every time.  You can also use fresh noodles.  I do not recommend the dry noodles that you have to boil first.  They tend to break easily and can be on the thick side.

Butter a large baking dish and start by adding a layer of Bolognese Ragu at the bottom of the pan.

Now add a layer of lasagne noodles.

Add a layer of Béchamel.  It does not have to be too thick.

Top the layer of Béchamel with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Now another layer of Bolognese Ragu.   Continue layering in the above order, until you reach the top of the baking dish, ending with Béchamel and cheese.

Place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes, until the top begins to lightly brown.

 

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes, before serving.

Enjoy!

Note: The amount of Bolognese sauce and Bechamel depends on the size of the baking dish used, and how many people you intend on feeding.  Just make sure to make at least 4 cups of Bechamel sauce and 5 Cups of Bolognese Sauce.  If you have left-over Bolognese sauce you can always freeze it to use later.

Ingredients:

Bolognese sauce approximately 5 cups

Béchamel sauce approximately 4 cups

1 box Barilla Lasagne noodles

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Tools:

4 Qt.  baking dish

Cooking Method:

Butter a large baking dish.  Add a ladle full of Bolognese sauce to the bottom of the baking dish.  Add the first layer of lasagne noodles.  If you are using the “No boil” noodles, lightly wet them first to insure you do not get any uncooked noodles (even though the instructions don’t require this).  Now add a light layer of Béchamel sauce, followed by a layer of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Continue this order of layering until you reach the top of the baking dish, ending with Béchamel and cheese.  You will have approximately 3 – 4 layers of each ingredient.  Place in an 350 degree pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is light golden brown in color.

Serves: 6