A Taste Of Italian Comfort Food: Lasagna
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Chef Beatrice Tosti of Il Posto Accanto in the East Village joined CBS2's Cindy Hsu and Andrea Grymes with a taste of Italy Sunday morning. She shared her recipe for a 10-layer lasagna with hand cut Bolognese and bechamel sauce.
The recipe, served in a 14" x 9" baking pan, should feed six to eight guests.
BOLOGNESE AL COLTELLO
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of beef skirt or chuck cut into strips and then in to 1/2 inch cubes
- 12 oz. of pork shoulder cut the same way
- 12 oz. of veal shoulder (blade steak or stew) also cut in 1/2 inch dice
- 6 oz. of pancetta cut in 1/2 inch dice
- 1 cup dried porcini soaked in 2.5 cup of warm water (preserve the soaking water after straining and chop the porcini)
- 2 medium carrots chopped
- 2 stalk of celery chopped
- 2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cups dry red wine that you would drink
- 2 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fine sea salt or to taste
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Place a favorite heavy pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and let it become golden and crisp, but not dried. Add chopped vegetables and cook until the onion is translucent, stirring with a wooden spoon, but not too often so you can allow them to caramelize.
Add chopped meat and cook over medium/high heat until all natural juices from the meat are reduced and absorbed and the meat slightly sticks the bottom of the pan. Add chopped porcini and the strained steeping liquid and reduce completely. Now add the wine and reduce completely. Finally add the two cans of peeled tomatoes after you smooshed them with your hands, add seasoning bring to boil and reduce to slowest simmer over lowest flame and let cook for 2 hours.
FOR THE BECHAMEL SAUCE
- 2 quarts whole milk
- 9oz unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- 1 cup grated parmigiano
Bring milk to just before the boil. In another pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour a bit at a time while whisking to avoid lumps. Once all the flour is added to the butter, let it cook for five minutes. Start adding the hot milk a couple of ladles at a time, whisking and mixing. Once all the milk is added and the bechamel starts to bubble it's ready. Add the grated parmigiano, a teaspoon of sea salt, and grate a whole nutmeg 4 times over it.
ASSEMBLING
If you are making or buying home made pasta please cook it al dente or you can shock it in an ice bath and put it between towels or sheets of parchment paper until ready to use.
Start by buttering your baking pan on all sides, place half a ladle of your bolognese at the bottom and spread it. Now place your cooked or dry sheet of lasagna on top of the bolognese making sure you are covering the bottom of the pan and add bechamel and bolognese spreading thoroughly, now add parmigiano. Repeat until you have 6 layers, the top layer will be bechamel and bolognese topped with generous parmigiano and little bits of unsalted butter.
Bake in a 375 degrees preheated oven until the top is golden. Check after 20 minutes, but depending on the oven, it could take up to 40 minutes.
Let the lasagna rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving.