If you are here, maybe you have looked at how to make authentic lasagna Bolognese recipe, cause you have decided to cook the best pasta in the world, aka lasagne Bolognesi 🙂 Ok, I could be not 100% objective, since I was born in Bologna, but trust me, they are.
You will notice I say “they are” and not “it is”, since in my town lasagna is… plural. We say lasagne, since they are made of a number of layers of fresh, homemade pasta. But I know that is is globally known as lasagna, so I will use both.
Authentic lasagna bolognese: what makes the difference
Lasagne in Bologna are a religion, I would say like pizza in Naples. We simply cannot stand hearing about lasagne with other ingredients (that hurts, lol), but I know we should be more open 🙂
Traditional Italian food is simple, based on a few, great ingredients. And this applies also to the authentic lasagna bolognese, which has only four components:
- fresh egg pasta, better if green (i.e. with spinaches, or even better kettle, in the dough)
- besciamella (bechamel sauce) – yes, not ricotta, even if I keep reading about “authentic lasagne Bolognese” with ricotta cheese…
- ragù (aka bolognese sauce)
- parmigiano reggiano – yes, how can you think of pasta in the oven coming from Bologna with no parmigiano reggiano? 🙂 and if you are curious about how the King of cheese is made, I wrote a guide full of information about it!
Lasagne Bolognesi is the result of centuries of contamination among different local recipes. Traditionally, you can find the recipe that is now the pride of trattorias like Nonna Aurora, starting from the beginning of the XX century.
But if you are not in Bologna, my advice is: don’t look for this dish in restaurants, just cook it at home following these easy instructions! You will be surprised how easy it is to cook a real lasagna bolognese, starting from the basic ingredients.
If you will like my recipe, just PIN IT! 🙂 Thank you.
Authentic lasagna bolognese
Equipment
- a casserole
- a spoon
- a pot
Ingredients
- 300 gr bechamel sauce (besciamella) (https://www.eatalianwithroberto.com/homemade-bechamel-sauce)
- 300 gr bolognese sauce (https://www.eatalianwithroberto.com/bolognese-sauce/)
- 6 sheets of fresh egg pasta better is with spinach (green egg pasta)
- 150 gr grated parmesan cheese
- 10 gr butter
Instructions
- Cook each sheet of pasta in boiling salted water, for about 3-4 minutes each. They must remain "al dente". Then make them rest on a clean cloth, that will absorb the exceeding water.
- Grease your casserole with butter. Then, the rest is just "act and repeat" 🙂
- Start with a sheet of egg pasta, then spread some bolognese sauce over it, some bechamel sauce and eventually add grated parmigiano reggiano on top. Repeat as many times as to finish the sheets.
- Put the casserole into the oven, at 180 °C, and cook for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Suggested wine pairings
So, now that you took the time to cook an original lasagna bolognese, you cannot go wrong with the wine!
A good dish of lasagne Bolognesi deserves a good red wine. As always, picking a wine from the same territory of the food is a good choice.
That’s why in a typical trattoria in Bologna the pairing would be with a Lambrusco di Sorbara (sparkling) or with a Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore (still), both regional wines.
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Buon appetito!
6 Comments
Where do you find fresh pasta like this if you can’t make your own?
Hi! Where I live in Italy you can find fresh pasta sheets in every supermarket, but I know it’s not like that everywhere. Even if not fresh, you should be able to find it online (I searched for “lasagne sheets”). Since it is not fresh, just boil it a little bit longer in salted water before building the lasagne. Hope this helps, ciao and thanks for visiting my site 🙂
I have a question as to where to obtain fresh egg pasta if you are unable to make your own… Amy brand and type you recommend for purchase?
Hi, thanks for reaching out to me. I believe the easiest to be found is Buitoni. To be fair, I never buy that, so I can’t recommend a “best choice”. I always make it at home or buy it fresh. Anyway, since bechamel and ragù will be homemade and you use a good Parmigiano Reggiano, lasagne will be delicious for sure 😉
This recipe is unreal!! We just got back from our honeymoon in Italy, and this recipe tasted like we were still there. We are in love! This will be a new staple in our house!
Thank you Annika! Where did you taste them in Italy? In Bologna you can find the real deal! 😉
Keep following me for more, ciao!