Today’s recipe is a variation on the classic Baked Lasagne that I have already shared with you in the past. The main difference is that this dish is made using “green” pasta sheets that are made with spinach. You can find a tutorial on how to make your own green pasta dough here. I can easily tell you I prefer this version to the classic lasagne. I love both the taste and the colour. I actually remember the first time I ever ate it. I was very little, so my memory is a bit blurry, but I remember eating it at a local Trattoria in Bologna with my parents and my grand parents who were there on holiday from Sicily. When I was a child, I was a very fussy eater (something that is quite hard to believe now!), so my parents ordered lasagne knowing that it would probably be their safest bet. But when I dug my fork into it, I saw “green”… ouch! It took a bit of convincing, but in the end I tried it out and I obviously LOVED it! And the same thing happened with my daughter. I am going to include this recipe in my Regional Italian dishes series, under Emilia-Romagna as it is a dish from this region, even though this is my family’s recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
- 1 kg – 2.2 lbs. beef mince
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 80 ml – 2.7 oz. red wine
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 celery talk, finely diced
- 800 ml – 27 oz. diced tomatoes
- 300 ml – 10 oz. tomato purée
- 140 gms – 5 oz. tomato concentrate
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tbsp rosemary
- ¼ tbsp fennel seeds
- Salt and pepper
- Egg pasta sheets (made with 1 dose of Green Egg Pasta dough)
- 1 lt – 33.8 oz. béchamel sauce
- 250 gms – 8.8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 120 gms – 4.2 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
- Put the extra virgin olive oil, celery, carrot and onion (1) and sauté for a few minutes, until the vegetables are soft (2).
- Add the mince (3), stir well and break all lumps with a wooden spoon.
- When the meat is nicely browned, add the wine (4) and cook off the alcohol by increasing the flame.
- Then add all the tomatoes (5), herbs, salt and pepper and fill with water till the brim of the pot (6). Lower the flame to medium- low, cover and let the sauce cook for at least 1 hour, or until thick. Keep aside.
- Put a large pot with salty water on the fire and bring to a boil.
- Cook the pasta sheets in it for 1 minute. Do this in batches (I use a shallow but large pot and I cook them in 1 layer, so I am sure they do not stick together).
- Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a clean tea towel to cool down. (I forgot to take a picture, so I uploaded a picture from my Baked Lasagne post, that’s why the lasagne sheets are not green.)
- Now you are all set to start assembling your lasagne. Start with a layer of meat sauce at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Add a layer of cooled pasta sheets, making sure not to overlap them. Now cover them with a layer of meat sauce, some béchamel sauce, sliced mozzarella and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Do this for 5 to 6 layers. On the last layer (the top most layer), do not put mozzarella or it will burn and it will taste bitter.
- Cook the lasagne in a pre heated oven at 180°C – 355°F for 20 minutes, then grill for 5 to 10 minutes until the top gets golden brown. Serve warm.
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My nonna used to make lasagna from scratch! It was divine!!! Italians have a thing for cooking, I tell you!
Happy Sunday to you too, Manu!!!
A real tour de force! Even in my bloated post-Thanksgiving state, this makes me really hungry…
Manu, my mouth is watering just by looking at your delicious pictures. I love your lasagna and recipe! Wonderfully done my friend!
Delicious dish … I love lasagne !
Well done and thanks for sharing the recipe.
Kisses from Greece
Lasagne always works. Lovely! I still have some green pasta sheets in my storage.
Will definitely have to try your lasagna recipe since my family is from Emilia-Romagna and I just returned from visiting them. This looks delicious as do all of your recipes!