Lasagna

This lasagna is my signature dish. I have been making some version of it for the last 20 years. It’s based on a Northern Italian recipe and features Bolognese instead of red sauce and bechamel instead of ricotta. If you have only ever had a traditional lasagna with red sauce and ricotta, you are in for a treat. If I have my act together, I make the Bolognese one day, then focus on the bechamel and assembly the next. It makes the whole thing less stressed, but if you’re up for a project, there’s no reason you can’t do it all in one day. The latest amendment is the addition of Cappello’s Almond Flour Lasagna Sheets. It was meant to be a healthy substitution, but ended up making the lasagna richer, creamier and easier (hello no boil lasagna sheets!). It’s such a win win, it’s now the only way I make this dish.

Lasagna

1 recipe Bolognese (included below)

1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (included below)

1 1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese

1 package of Cappello’s Almond Flour Lasagna Sheets

Preheat oven to 375°. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with bechamel sauce. Top the bechamel with 2 cups of Bolognese and 1/3 cup of parmesan. Cover with two lasagna sheets. Repeat the layering (Bolognese, bechamel, cheese and lasagna sheets) two more times. Cover the last layer of lasagna sheets with bechamel and sprinkle with the final 1/3 cup of parmesan. Cook for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Bolognese

Makes 6 cups

1 large onion, diced small

4 small carrots, diced small

3 stalks celery, diced small

2 tbsp butter

4 tbsp avocado oil, divided

1 pound ground pork

4 chicken livers, connective tissue removed

1 pound ground beef

4 oz sausage meat

1/2 cup verjus or white wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt 

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and two tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sauté until softened and the onion is beginning to turn translucent. Season with salt and transfer the onion mixture to a bowl. Add one tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the ground pork and chicken livers. Season with salt and transfer to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add the final tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the ground beef and sausage meat. Season with salt and add the onion and ground pork mixture back into the pan. Once everything is hot, add the verjus or wine to the pan and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk tomato paste into one cup of the stock and add to the pan. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1.5 hours. If the sauce begins to dry out, moisten with remaining stock as needed. After 1.5 hours, check seasoning and add more salt if needed. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine.

Bechamel Sauce

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp flour

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

5 cups of milk

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir vigorously to make a roux (I like to use a large heatproof spatula like this one). Season the roux with one teaspoon of salt and continue to cook for three minutes, stirring constantly to prevent browning. Warm the milk in the microwave or another saucepan - it does not need to be scalding, but it should be warm to the touch. Once the roux has been cooking for three minutes, begin adding the milk a little at a time (about a 1/2 cup), stirring vigorously to fully incorporate the milk. Cook for a few minutes after each milk addition to ensure the sauce thickens, stirring the whole time to prevent browning. Use the spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan often to ensure nothing is sticking to the pan and browning. This process of adding milk, cooking and stirring takes about 25 minutes all in. When all the milk has been added, pull out your spatula and drag a finger across the bechamel on the spatula. If your finger leaves a line that stays, the sauce is thick enough. If the line gets covered in sauce, then keep reducing the sauce until it stays. Add the final tablespoon of salt. Check seasoning and add more salt if needed.