Make Some Room
Posted Mon, 04/12/04
The following is an incredible recipe for lasagna. I've never seen anything like it! The dish originated from Chef Dante Boccuzzi of the Aureole Restaurant in New York City, and was then adapted by Star Chefs:
My Mother-in-Law's Lasagna
Meat Sauce:
2 TBS olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 C ground pork
1 C ground beef
1 C ground sausage
4 tsp. tomato paste
1 C white wine
1-1/2 C beef stock
4 TBS heavy cream
Salt & black pepper to taste
Béchamel Sauce:
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
1 tsp. salt
2-1/2 C hot milk
Lasagna:
1 LB dried lasagna pasta
4 C meat sauce (recipe below)
4 C béchamel sauce (recipe below)
2 C ricotta cheese
3 sprigs fresh parsley
1 C grated Parmesan cheese
6 TBS butter
For meat sauce: In a large saucepot heat olive oil over low heat. Cook onion, carrot and celery until tender. Add ground meats and lightly brown. Add wine and cook until it evaporates. Season with salt and black pepper; add tomato paste and stock. Simmer sauce for about ninety minutes. Add cream and cook until reduced.
For béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a small pot. Add flour and salt, stirring to make a paste. Cook gently over low heat for five minutes, without letting paste brown. Slowly add hot milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook sauce until thick and smooth.
For lasagna: Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just past al dente. Remove sheets from pot and pour cold water over pasta to cool.
Combine béchamel sauce with parsley and ricotta cheese in a medium bowl. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Cover the bottom layer with pasta, then a layer of béchamel sauce, meat sauce and grated cheese. Place another layer of pasta and continue alternating the layers until all the ingredients are used up. The top layer should be pasta covered with grated cheese and butter. Bake for one hour or until a light golden crust has formed. Let rest for thirty minutes before serving. Yield: Six servings.
I'd need an entire day just to make the recipe and clean up the kitchen afterward. The dish sounds marvelous – if not sinfully rich. I will definitely give it a shot before the year is out.
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