Classic Lasagna Bolognese

For the Bolognese sauce, set up your food processor and get the garlic, onion, celery and carrot into its bowl. Puree completely. Set aside.

Get some cheesecloth out. Lay out rosemary, thyme, Parmesan rind and peppercorns on it and gather it up into a tight parcel. Tie it tightly with kitchen twine to keep it together. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the meatloaf mixture in it while you break it up, then add mushrooms and pureed aromatics. Let them soften for a couple of minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Then pour in wine, Worcestershire and crushed tomatoes. Submerge the cheesecloth parcel in the sauce. Bring it to a low boil, then reduce it to a simmer to cook for 2 hours.

While the sauce cooks, make the pasta dough. Pour flour onto a work surface and create a well in the center. Fill the well with eggs and truffle salt. Beat eggs with a fork while slowly incorporating the flour until it starts to form a dough. With clean hands, bring it together into a ball of dough and knead for 2–3 minutes. It will become really springy and fight back. That’s when it is done. Wrap it in plastic and set it aside to rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough rests, make the bechamel sauce. Combine butter and flour in a saucepan and heat it over medium high heat. As it starts to cook, whisk it together until it is smooth and thick. While still whisking, slowly pour in the milk. Then add the nutmeg and truffle salt. Let the sauce gently bubble for 10–15 minutes, whisking it occasionally to keep it smooth. When it is done, take it off of the heat and set it aside covered in the refrigerator until you need it for assembly.

Get a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. The pasta dough should be just about ready by this point and ready to roll out. Cut the ball of dough into quarters. Take the first quarter and roll it out enough to be able to fit through a pasta roller. Roll out that quarter in a pasta roller until it is thin enough to almost see your hand through it. It will be extremely long. Cut it into four equal pieces and trim any scraggly ends away. They should be just the perfect size to fit the width of a 9 x 13 pan. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. You should have 16 lasagna noodles total.

Boil the noodles for just 30 seconds to a minute. Drain, then use clean oven mitts to lay them out right away so that they don’t stick together. (You will probably only need 12 of the noodles, but I built in a buffer in case any of them stuck together or ripped too much. I tossed the remaining 4 noodles with pesto sauce and cherry tomatoes for a light lunch!)

Time to assemble the lasagna! Lightly grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with a spoonful of the Bolognese sauce. Then lay out 4 of the noodles across the bottom. Spread half of the Bolognese sauce across the noodles, followed by half of the bechamel sauce. Then sprinkle a 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan over it. Finish the layer by laying out 8 slices of the mozzarella.

Repeat the process for the next layer. Finish with a top layer of noodles, a last sprinkling of Parmesan and 8 more slices of mozzarella. At this point, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate the lasagna overnight. It can also be frozen for weeks!

When you are ready to bake the lasagna, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the lasagna covered for 40 minutes. Uncover it and bake it for another 10 minutes. Take it out and let it set for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary on top for garnish. Then cut and serve immediately with crusty bread!