I remember looking forward to Sundays because my mum was making my favorite dish, her signature lasagna.
Growing up in Italy, I've always had a demanding taste, and all I know is that no one has ever made lasagna better than my mum, except me.
Modesty aside, after long years of trying, I have perfected her recipe and came up with a pretty damn good lasagna recipe.
I wanted to keep it a secret to pass on from generation to generation, but it is so good that I decided I couldn't keep it all to myself, so here it is. My precious secret revealed.
In all honesty, there are a few secrets to a mouth-watering lasagna, but I found out that the most important ones are the ingredients and the brands used.
If you want an authentic Italian lasagna dish, you have to use Italian ingredients. I am aware that many cultures have adapted this dish, and modified it throughout culinary history, and I found some of these recipes stunning, but my article today will be focused on the original recipe or at least my version of the Italian original lasagna. So let's get started!
First of all, let me start by suggesting some of the brands that I use.
I always buy Barilla as my top one brand for lasagna sheets. The sausage has to be Italian sausage and no other kind, or the taste of the ragú will change drastically. Sometimes I make my own bechamel sauce and sometimes I buy it already made, but I don't advise to get any of these premade lasagna sauces unless we are talking about Chef bechamel sauce from Parmalat or any other Italian brand, which have very simple ingredients, or you will be better off making your own.
If you find Italian basil, you are very lucky, otherwise, any kind of basil is ok. The sauce you want to use for the ragú is also important. Any kind of Italian brand is ok, I use the brand Mutti and find it to be the best. Another important ingredient is mozzarella. The most flavourful ones are those in water, they are the ones that we use in Italy. Galbani is my to-go brand.
Ingredients for the ragú alla bolognese: serves 4 people
300 g. fresh Italian sausage
300 g. minced beef
1 carrot
1 yellow onion
1 celery
salt q.b
fresh basil 5-6 leaves
1 can of Chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup white wine (like Pinot Grigio)
olive oil
1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons of whole milk
For 1l of Besciamelle sauce:
100 g. Butter
100 g. Flour 00
1 l of whole milk
salt to taste
nutmeg to taste
button mushrooms (optional)
For the lasagna:
1 pack of Lasagna sheets
2 mozzarella in water
Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
primula cheese (optional)
You will need quite a bit of time, so start early in the morning or if you don't have time, you can make the bolognese ragú the night before and store it in the fridge.
Start with the ragu. I use a small cast iron pot for a better result. Finely chop the onion, celery, and carrot and place them in a bowl, heat some olive oil in the pot and toss your vegetables in at low heat, making sure that you don't burn them.
While your vegetables are cooking, grab your sausage and take out the membrane that keeps it together.
When your vegetables are translucent, toss the sausage in and brown it, add the minced beef, and brown it. Add the tomato paste. This whole process has to be on high heat. When all the meat juices have evaporated, add the wine and let it evaporate completely. When you can see the initial oil that you started with, add the tomato can and the basil, adjust with salt but remember not to put too much, Italian sausage already contains salt and pepper, and you don't want your ragú to be salty. Add half a cup of water and bring it to a boil. Once your ragú is boiling, turn it down on low heat and cover with a lid. The heat doesn't have to be too low or too high.
The perfect test consists of leaning close to the pot to hear that it's still slightly boiling and puffing on a low constant.
A huge mistake would be to let it boil on a heat that's too high.
Let it cook for 3 hours on low heat. Turn off the heat and add 2-3 tbsp of milk at room temperature.
It's time to prepare your bechamel sauce.
While you heat your milk, prepare your roux. Heat your butter in a pan and add the flour, stir until you get a consistent paste. Add the milk a little bit at a time while you continue to stir it in until it's absorbed. DO NOT add the milk all at once, or your bechamel will become clumpy. Add salt and nutmeg, and as an option, I sometimes like to add button mushrooms to give it an earthy taste.
It's now time to assembly your lasagna.
Heat the oven to 220C or, read on the back of the package what are your cooking timings, if you are using another brand of Lasagna sheet.
Grab a squared dish and spread some ragú and bechamel on the bottom of it. Place a layer of pasta, and top it with sauce, bechamel, primula cheese, mozzarella cut into little pieces, and Parmigiano cheese. Work your way up until you have done three layers and top with the same ingredients, adding a bit more Parmigiano cheese on the top. In the oven for 20 minutes or according to your lasagna cooking instructions.
Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Here you go, my original Italian lasagna recipe!
I will reveal another secret to you.
Something that I consider to be very important when I make my lasagna is the balance of all my ingredients. During your assembly, pay attention to the quantity of ragú - bechamel. When you add these first two ingredients, you have to make sure you can still see a little bit of the lasagna sheet, which will be covered when you add the cheeses. Make sure you add the right quantities, and you will have the best lasagna that you've ever tasted!
Let me know in the comments any suggestions and thoughts about this recipe and good luck!