Lasagna alla Bolognese

Lasagna alla bolognese is a typical Emilia Romagna dish. Despite its regional origin, it's a dish that's cooked all over the country. It's one of the symbols of Italian cuisine. The quality of ingredients is very important here –– meat needs to be mixed: both beef and pork, tomato sauce should be of high quality, and last but not least, the lasagna sheets need to be the best ones.

INGREDIENTS

21 lasagna sheets

2.5 cups parmesan cheese DOP, grated

1/2 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef, grass fed

1 cup tomato sauce

4 carrots, finely chopped

4 celery stocks, finely chopped

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup milk + 1 liter

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (Olivaio)

1 cup white wine

1 cup butter

1 cup flour

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Heat extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in a pan over low heat; add vegetables and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently
Add pork and beef and cook until browned, about 10 minutes, mixing often; add white wine and simmer
As soon the alcohol evaporates, pour in the tomato sauce and add 1 liter of water; season with salt to taste, mix, and let it cook on medium-low heat for an hour
When one hour passes, add another liter of water, mix and continue cooking for an additional hour; do the same for a 3rd time with an additional liter of water (3 liters in total)
When cooked the sauce will be dense; adjust with salt and pepper; turn off the flame and add 1/2 cup milk and thoroughly mix
Preheat your oven to 400 F
Now prepare the besciamella –– in a small sauce pan, heat 1 liter milk
In a separate pan, dissolve the butter over low heat and put it in a bowl; add the flour and aggressively mix with a whisk to prevent lumps; add mixture to the milk, stir, and simmer over low heat; cook the besciamella for 5 minutes until it's creamy
Take a baking dish and add a little bit of besciamella, then cover it with lasagne sheets; add another layer of besciamella, then ragu and parmesan cheese; repeat until all ingredients are used; bake for about 25 minutes