The secret to authentic Bolognese lasagna

DW (English)

Lasagna is one of Italy's most famous dishes. But how do the Italians prepare this much-loved classic? We reveal the tricks of the trade.

Transcript

00:00Now that's a lasagna if I've ever seen one!

00:03Sheets of silky pasta enveloped in luxurious meat and bechamel sauces.

00:09Bologna in the north of Italy is the birthplace of the original lasagna,

00:13at least according to the Academia Italiana della Cucina.

00:16The organization tends to the preservation of Italy's rich culinary heritage.

00:23And it's that very lasagna that is on the menu here at Elisa Rusconi's family restaurant Trattoria d'Ame.

00:31It's a great traditional dish that essentially consists of just three elements.

00:38Pasta sheets, bechamel and ragu.

00:42It sounds simple, but actually requires plenty of ingredients and a lot of preparation.

00:48So, ragu alla bolognese, or bolognese sauce, I have seen so many ingredients used that really have nothing to do with it.

00:56One of them is garlic.

01:00There is no garlic in bolognese sauce. It simply does not belong there.

01:06Instead, it's a mix of celery, carrots and onions, pork belly bacon,

01:12coarsely ground minced meat from pork and beef, triple tomato concentrate and, of course, extra virgin olive oil.

01:21Take a pan and pour in a generous amount of oil.

01:26We cook the vegetables down until they are perfectly browned and don't lose any liquid.

01:37When the onions are translucent and the smell changes, the sauce base is ready.

01:46Then we add the fresh pork belly.

01:54It's very important that the meat is only coarsely chopped.

01:59When the bacon is well browned, add the meat.

02:02Then comes the last ingredient, the triple concentrated tomato puree.

02:12This gives the sauce its color.

02:15Put the lid on and turn the heat down.

02:18The ragu should never cook less than three to four hours.

02:24Salt is added only at the very end.

02:27For the bechamel sauce, Elisa uses one liter of milk, butter, flour, semolina flour, nutmeg and a little salt.

02:37First, she melts the butter.

02:40First of all, the secret is to make a real bechamel sauce yourself and not to buy it.

02:46Now we add the flour, the nutmeg comes right after.

02:50We let it cook for a few minutes, then we add the milk.

02:59The trick is to keep stirring so that the bechamel sauce doesn't burn and clump together.

03:07Now it's nice and creamy and we add a little salt.

03:14After greasing the casserole dish with some butter spray, it's time to layer.

03:22Plenty of bechamel, then the pasta sheets.

03:25These here are green because they were made with spinach.

03:28Spread evenly with ragu and top each layer with parmesan.

03:32For the last layer, take a ladle of bechamel sauce and a ladle of ragu.

03:41Then mix it together and pour it over the last layer of pasta.

03:47Finish with plenty of parmesan cheese.

03:58Here's another tip.

03:59The lasagna should be prepared the day before, kept in the fridge and left to rest overnight.

04:06Then we bake it the next day.

04:09Now it's off to the preheated oven, 45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

04:19The lasagna is ready.

04:22Enjoy!

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