Lasagna Bolognese

I've never been a huge fan of lasagna. There's something about ricotta that instantly sends me running in the opposite direction. There is no rhyme or reason to it, it's just one of those ingredients that I cannot stomach. Especially not in large quantities, bleh. That's why when I noticed this recipe at Smitten Kitchen, the choir of angels immediately began rejoicing. Finally, a lasagna recipe without ricotta! Although, like most lasagnas that take minimal effort to pull off, this one is not the case. It was a labor of love, but completely and 100% worth it.

Deb recommends that you make this lasagna over the course of two days and I completely and utterly agree. The bolognese (or zesty meat sauce) takes about 45 minutes just to prep and then between 3 and 4 hours to cook and become hearty and delicious. See, I really meant it when I said it was a labor of love. But if you have the time, or the will power to think about a dish more than a half an hour in advance (I envy you for that gift), I would definitely recommend trying out this recipe.

To start you're going to want to get together these ingredients for the bolognese: tomato paste, bay leaves, wine (Deb used red in her recipe, but all I had was white), onion, garlic, thyme, carrots and celery.


Side note: you don't need parmesan for the bolognese, silly me left it in the picture. And I neglected to photograph the ground beef, sorry I'm new at this.

The first thing you're going to want to do is chop up your onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Deb's recipe  wanted me to blend it in the food processor, but I was incredibly lazy and was not sure where I would find my mom's food processor, so I ignored that advice. Instead I just chopped them up as fine as possible. This actually worked out really well because they practically disintegrated by the end of the cooking time.

After you hack away at those veggies, you're going to want to throw them into a large pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Just enough to get a light coating on the bottom of the pot. Throw in your veggies and mix them around. Tip: I always test to make sure my pans/pots are hot enough by just throwing a small piece of whatever I'm cooking in first; a test piece, if you will. If you can hear a sizzle and the oil around the ingredient is bubbling, you know it's time to throw in the rest.

Add a good helping of salt and pepper at this step. You always want to make sure you season as you go. It adds so much more flavor, I promise.

Allow the vegetables to cook until they get nice and golden brown. See those brown bits on the bottom of the pan? Do not panic! That's exactly what you want. The brown bits are what give the sauce body and flavor. Yum.

After the veggies have browned, you're going to want to add two pounds of ground beef. I forgot to photograph this before, but you need it. It's absolutely necessary. I cheated at this step. My mom already had cooked ground beef that she gave me, it definitely saved me some time, but it was a complete nightmare to get the beef block to defrost. Definitely use fresh.

After all the beef has browned completely, add in your tomato paste. Allow this to cook for a few minutes.

The next thing you're going to want to do is add in your wine. I mentioned before how I used white wine instead of the red that the recipe called for. Keep this between us, if any accomplished chef ever heard this they would probably take away my spatula. But really, if all you have is white go ahead and use it, the sauce will still taste completely delectable.

After you add the wine, make sure to scrape all the brown bits off the bottom.

Let the wine reduce by half and then add a few cups of water until the water completely covers the meat.

Bundle a few of the thyme sprigs together and throw them into the pot with a couple of bay leaves.

Now the next couple of hours are going to require some attention. You want to let the sauce simmer and as the water evaporates off the top of the sauce you want to replace it with just a cup at a time. I found that I really only had to replace the water twice and I was left with a very thick and rich sauce, so don't go water happy. Just make sure to stir it every so often.

After it's done cooking, you're going to want to start on your béchamel and rejoice that your bolognese is finally done.

For the béchamel, you're going to need: butter, milk, garlic, nutmeg, flour, salt, and pepper. Deb also said to use whole milk, but I didn't feel like using that. Don't worry, you will still get the same results, I promise.

Now the trick with béchamel sauces is that you will think at one point you completely screwed it up. I had that moment, threw mine out and started again, which I didn't need to do. You also need to watch them at all times and continuously whisk until your arm falls off.

The first thing you want to do is melt your butter in a medium saucepan. As it melts, mince one clove of garlic.

Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk it together. Make sure all the lumps are gone before you start adding your milk. You're going to want to add a small amount of milk at a time. As soon as the milk is added, whisk away until all the milk is combined. The sauce will clump together and then thin out as you add more milk.

Continue to add milk in small amounts, whisking after each part is added. Make sure to follow this. You don't want to add too much milk at one time.

Once all the milk is added, you'll have a sauce that is pretty thin. DO NOT PANIC. Learn from my panic attack and just allow it to cook on the stove for no more than 10 minutes. Once the sauce comes to a light boil, it will thicken more. Before it begins to cook, add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. I know, I know nutmeg sounds like a terrible idea in a savory dish, but it actually brings the sauce together. Just trust me.

Now once the béchamel has thickened, you're going to want to start assembling your lasagna.

Start by spooning some of the béchamel sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. I didn't use any measurements here because I was really lazy. My apologies. You just want enough to cover the bottom of the dish.

Then add your lasagna noodles on top of it. I recommend using these "no boil" lasagna noodles. They were extremely easy to use and made the process super simple.

After the noodles, you want to spoon on some of the bolognese. Mine might be a little thicker than yours just because I put it in the fridge over night. Such a beautiful, wonderful sauce. Mmm.

Then ladle more of your béchamel on top the bolognese.

Next, sprinkle the parmesan cheese (hey, here's where you're supposed to go!) and I added grated mozzarella which was not included in the original recipe. I think lasagnas need mozzarella, especially if they don't have ricotta.

Continue this sequence: noodles, bolognese, béchamel, parmesan, and mozzarella until you have 4 or 5 layers.

After your last layer of noodles, you want to spoon on the last of your béchamel sauce and then sprinkle on the rest of the parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and place into a 375 degree oven or follow the baking directions on your lasagna box, like mine there! Cook for 50 minutes and then remove the tin foil. Place back in the oven, and allow the cheese to brown on top for about 10 minutes.

Ta-da! After all that hard work, you will be left with a delectable ricotta-less lasagna. If you love a cheesy top, I definitely recommend using the mozzarella cheese.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy a large plate of lasagna. Recipe below!

Lasagna Bolognese
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 12 to 15 servings.

Ingredients:
For the bolognese:
1 medium (2 small) onion, finely chopped
1 large (2 small) carrots, also finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
A few tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/4 cups tomato paste (2 6-ounce cans)
2 cups red or white wine, whatever you have on hand or like to drink
Water, as needed
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of thyme

For the béchamel sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg, to taste (I recommend a pinch)

Assembly:
1 2/3 cups grated parmesan cheese (or you can eyeball it like I did)
Mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Day 1: Making the bolognese - finely chop the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Heat a moderate sized pot (I used an 8 quart) over medium-high heat. Once hot, coat the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped vegetables and season them with salt and pepper. Add the ground beef and season again with salt and pepper. Cook until completely brown. Allow for it to cook for 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and allow it to reduce by half, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pot as it reduces. This will take about 5 minutes. Add water to the pot until it reaches about 1 inch above the meat. Throw in the bay leaves and thyme and stir to combine. Allow it to come to a low simmer

Next 3 to 4 hours - keep a measuring cup full of water by the pot. As the water in the sauce evaporates, replace it, adding no more than a cup or two at a time. Taste every so often to check for seasonings. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours.

Day 2: Make the béchamel - melt the butter in the bottom of a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook for a minute, whisking continuously. Pour in a small drizzle of the milk, whisking into the mixture until smooth. Repeat this process until all the milk is combined. Once all the milk is added, add the garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper, bringing the sauce to a low simmer. Stir frequently for 10 minutes. Taste to test seasonings.

Assemble - preheat oven to 375 degrees or temperature on your lasagna noodle box. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread a generous amount of the béchamel on the bottom (Deb recommends using 1/4 cup). Add your first layer of noodles on top of the sauce to form a single layer. Spoon the bolognese over the noodles (about 1 cup) and spread evenly. Ladle about a half cup of béchamel over the bolognese. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup parmesan and a thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat the process 3 to 4 times (depending on how many noodles you have) - pasta, 1 cup bolognese, 1/2 cup béchamel, 1/3 cup parmesan and mozzarella and follow this with a final layer of noodles, the last of the béchamel, parmesan, and mozzarella (in that order).

Cover with tin foil and bake the lasagna for 50 minutes (or the time on your lasagna package). Remove the tin foil and return to the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve and enjoy!