Description
This melty, cheesy, saucy, beefy lasagna al ragù uses whole sheets of golden fresh egg pasta layered with tomato and beef white wine sauce, creamy porcini béchamel, grated Grana Padano, and mozzarella cheese. It's full of flavor and it's much quicker than making authentic Lasagna Bolognese. As always, I've included step-by-step recipe photos at the end of the post.
Ingredients
For the Tomato & Beef White Wine Sauce
- 24 ounces tomato passata (700g) (sub finely chopped tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (30g)
- 1 small onion (3 5/8 ounces) (100g)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 pound ground beef (450g)
- 3 1/2 ounces dry white wine (like Pecorino, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon) (100g)
- 1 cup whole milk (235g)
For the Porcini Béchamel Sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (35g)
- 4 tablespoons flour (35g)
- 2 cups milk (490g)
- 2 dried porcini mushrooms, or more to taste (0.75g)
- 1/4 of a small onion
- freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (2.5g)
For the Rest of the Lasagna
- 1 pound egg pasta lasagna sheets, fresh or dried (500g)
- 3 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (400g)
- 1 cup grated Grana Padano cheese (100g) (sub Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese)
Instructions
Make the Pasta Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker (or Instant Pot or Bimby) over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and onions and cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and cook through, about 5 minutes more.
- Add the white wine and cook, stirring now and then, until the liquid is absorbed and the pot sizzles, about 10 minutes.
- Add the tomato passata and milk. Season with salt to taste.
- Close the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Once it reaches pressure, set a timer for 25 minutes and reduce to the lowest setting that still holds pressure.
- Turn off the heat and let it release naturally. (Regular pot: see recipe notes for time and technique.)
Infuse the Milk for the Béchamel
- While the sauce cooks, add the milk, onion, and dried porcini to a small pot. Heat over medium until scalding but not boiling.
- Turn off the heat. Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg. Steep at least 20 minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer and reheat until hot. (For deeper flavor: steep overnight, then purée with an immersion blender instead of straining.)
Make the Porcini Béchamel
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour a little at a time, whisking constantly to keep it lump-free.
- Keep whisking over medium heat until the roux is fragrant, slightly darker, and the raw flour is cooked, about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the hot milk in a steady stream, whisking vigorously. Cook, whisking, until it coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. It thickens more off the heat.
- Adjust salt and nutmeg. Press parchment or sustainable plastic wrap onto the surface to stop a skin from forming.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Spread a ladle of ragù across the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of slightly overlapping noodles.
- Spread on a little sauce and sprinkle with Grana Padano and mozzarella.
- Add noodles, tomato sauce, and a thin layer of béchamel.
- Repeat the layers, finishing with noodles, tomato sauce, Grana Padano, and mozzarella on top.
Bake
- Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375°F / 190°C for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more, until hot, bubbling, and golden. Broil the last 5 minutes to brown the mozzarella if you like.
- Rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
If using a regular sauce pot to make the sauce instead of a pressure cooker, once you add the tomatoes, bring everything up to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add the milk and cook another 45 minutes, or until well incorporated into the sauce. Be sure to stir the sauce occasionally and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't reduce too much.
I end up with just about 1/2 cup of the porcini béchamel leftover that I don't use in the lasagna. You can use it all if you want, reserve it for another use, or even freeze it for up to 3 months.
See the main post for storage and reheating instructions.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 690
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 580mg
- Fat: 36g
- Saturated Fat: 20g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 2.4g
- Protein: 36g
- Cholesterol: 140mg
