Pasta al Forno di Angela (Angela's Lasagne)
This is Angela’s signature dish, and one she really does well. It’s the one most requested by her grandchildren and it is the one she’ll prepare for every family gathering, in colossal aluminium trays. There’s a rhythm to the making of pasta al forno, or lasagne. There’s the sugo, the meat sauce, which has to be made the day before. Angela sets her two largest pots on the stove and makes
industrial quantities of it. Then there’s the béchamel.
Then it’s an assembly line. First, some sugo across the bottom of the tray. Then a layer of pasta. More sugo, generous swathes of it. Béchamel, quite fluid, strategically blobbed all over, then stirred right into the layer of sugo and mixed together into a creamy, rusty-pink sauce.
Then the torn mozzarella goes on, here and there, followed by a dusting of grated parmesan, and so on until the tray is full. It’s baked until it’s bubbling and crisp and, since it’s usually being
taken to someone’s house, it’s done well in advance. This, I believe, is part of the secret to the success of a good pasta al forno: that time where the whole thing settles and the flavours mingle, and then it is most likely reheated, so the edges get extra crunchy – the best bit.
Ingredients 20
Meat Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1⁄2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1⁄4 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked and finely chopped
sage leaves, a few, whole
Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, italian, finely chopped
80 ‒ 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
600 g minced beef (ground beef)
300 g minced pork (ground pork)
400 ml white wine
600 g tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
600 ml water
Béchamel
50 g butter
40 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
500 ml full-cream milk (full cream milk), whole, warmed
ground white pepper, freshly ground
Pasta
300 g plain flour (all-purpose flour), plus extra for dusting if needed
3 eggs
To Assemble
150 g parmesan, grated
250 g mozzarella, torn into pieces
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Method 13
For The Meat Sauce
Prepare the meat sauce at least a day in advance, if possible. Cook the , , and with the herbs and in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add a good pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the and and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat becomes evenly opaque, about 7 minutes.
Add another pinch of salt, pour over the and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced significantly, about 15 minutes.
Add the and . Add another good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the sauce to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently for at least 1 hour, uncovered. Check on it occasionally, stirring. It should reduce into a slightly thickened, fragrant sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. Set aside. If doing this in advance, transfer the sauce to an airtight container, leave to cool completely and refrigerate until needed.
For The Bechamel
For the béchamel, heat the and in a saucepan over a low–medium heat and, once the butter has melted, stir together for a couple of minutes until you have a thick paste-like mixture.
Slowly whisk in the warm (a little at a time at first), whisking until the milk is incorporated and smooth. Cook the béchamel for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon easily but it doesn’t need to be too thick – Angela keeps hers fairly liquid. Season with salt and white pepper (grated nutmeg is more traditional, but the family prefers pepper). Set aside. You can also do this in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For The Pasta
For the pasta, sift the into a bowl and create a well in the middle. Crack the into the well and begin stirring with a fork, first to break up the eggs, then, once well-beaten, begin incorporating the flour until you have a thick and sticky mixture.
Use your hands to finish combining the with as much as they can take to result in a smooth, elastic dough – you may or may not need all of the flour, which is why this technique of slowly incorporating the flour is used. It shouldn’t be sticky either but, if it is, you can dust with more flour. Knead on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes, then cover in plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into three portions and, working one portion at a time, dust the piece of and run it through a pasta machine, going from the thickest to thinnest or second-thinnest setting (depending on the machine), about 1 mm (in) thick. If you need to, dust the dough with extra flour between settings. Cut the long pieces of dough into convenient lengths that fit the dish you are planning to use for baking and set aside, preferably on a lightly-floured surface, until needed.
To Assemble
When you’re ready to assemble the lasagne, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the sheets for 1 minute each, then drain with a slotted spoon and place on a clean, damp tea towel (dish towel) – be careful not to overlap the pasta sheets as they stick easily.
Just before assembling the lasagne, reheat the as it will be easier to layer and stir through the .
In a glass or ceramic rectangular casserole dish, assemble the following layers: first, a thin layer of meat sauce and béchamel on the bottom of the dish, then a single layer of par-boiled pasta sheets, another layer of and , a handful of grated and some torn pieces of dotted here and there. Continue layering pasta, meat sauce, béchamel, and cheese, ending in a layer of cheese.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Leave to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Emiko Davies' tips
You can use store-bought lasagne sheets; Angela always does (you’ll need 400–500 g/14 oz–1 lb 2 oz fresh pasta sheets).
This easily serves six generous portions or eight normal portions for a meal that will probably have several courses.
When Angela makes a bigger tray for a family gathering to serve twelve, she simply doubles the béchamel and adds a little more mozzarella to make it stretch.
