Discover the traditional recipe for lasagna without béchamel, like in southern Italy!
The famous Bolognese lasagna, these wonderful multi-layered pasta which pleases children as much as adults, are one of the French’s favorite family dishes. It is obviously imported from Italy. This pasta dish from Emilia-Romagna can be cooked with or without béchamel. It depends on the regions… A long debate which divides northern Italy and southern Italy, the latter not adopting this ingredient at all. According to legend, béchamel only arrived in Italy in the 19th century, when the wife of Napoleon I became Sovereign Duchess of Parma…
In the south of Italy, we prefer to use mascarpone instead of béchamel, in a relatively simple preparation. For 4 people, you should have dry lasagna sheets, preferably purchased from an Italian delicatessen (otherwise, sheets purchased in a supermarket will do the trick), 600 grams of ground beef, two cans of tomatoes ( preferably Mutti brand), a pot of mascarpone and three balls of mozzarella. Add to your shopping list a triangle of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, a carrot, a shallot, a clove of garlic, a tablespoon of fine diced celery, half a glass of white wine, two bay leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Do you have everything? Here is the recipe to follow step by step:
- Start by preparing your vegetables and condiments. Peel the shallot, garlic cloves and carrot and chop everything. Brown the shallot, garlic, celery and carrots in a pan in a drizzle of olive oil. When they are candied, pour in the white wine and mix until it evaporates.
- It’s then time to move on to the rest of your filling. Brown the meat then add the canned tomatoes. Leave to simmer for a few moments before adding the bay leaf to the mixture and letting it infuse. You can then simmer over low heat for at least an hour so that the sauce reduces but remains a little liquid.
- Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of mascarpone, parmesan and mozzarella to form a slightly solid dough. All that remains is to add salt and pepper before assembling your lasagna. In a gratin dish, place a layer of tomato-beef sauce, add a layer of the cheese mixture on top by spoonfuls, distributing well, then add the dry lasagna sheet on top, pressing everything together.
- Repeat to form as many layers as needed. On the last layer of dry lasagna sheet, simply pour a little liquid from the tomato sauce, then a cheese mixture, to brown. Season with pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place the dish in an oven between 200 and 225 degrees for 45 minutes, covering with aluminum foil.
You will have understood, your lasagna dish is just as delicious with the mascarpone which brings as much creaminess as the béchamel. In Italy, there are a multitude of variations of the lasagna dish, combining ricotta with white ham, or salmon and spinach according to the famous Florentine recipe, further north…