Lasagna Bolognese with Spinach Pasta and Fontina–Parmigiano Béchamel

This lasagna brings together three distinctive components: a deeply flavored, slow-cooked pork and beef Bolognese, fresh homemade spinach pasta, and a silky béchamel enriched with Fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Rather than a few heavy layers, this lasagna is built with six to eight thin layers, allowing the delicate green pasta, rich meat sauce, and creamy béchamel to remain distinct in every bite.

Lasagna Bolognese with Spinach Pasta

Source: Adapted from Vincenzo’s Plate, Marcella Hazan, and GJB Recipes
Servings: 8–10
Prep Time: About 1½ hours, plus pasta resting time
Cook Time: About 5 hours, including Bolognese
Pan: 12 × 8 × 3-inch baking dish

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 500 g (17.6 ounces) ground pork
• 500 g (17.6 ounces) ground beef
• 100 g (3.5 ounces) pancetta
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 bottle Italian passata
• 100 g (3.5 ounces) tomato paste
• 400 g (14.1 ounces) peeled tomatoes
• 1 glass red wine
• 1 mug whole milk, optional
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Add the pancetta to a food processor and process until finely chopped.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and cook gently until it begins to render.
3. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning.
4. After about 7 minutes, when the vegetables are tender and glossy, add a small splash of the wine. Cover again and finish cooking the soffritto.
5. Drizzle in a little additional olive oil if necessary. Add the beef and pork and use a wooden spoon to break the meat into very small pieces, mixing it thoroughly with the soffritto.
6. Once the meat has lost its raw color, add the remaining wine. Stir well and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
7. Add the tomato paste and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add the passata and peeled tomatoes, breaking up the tomatoes with the spoon.
8. Cover and cook over very low heat for 3 hours. Check approximately every 30 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure the sauce isn’t sticking.
9. Remove the lid and continue cooking over low heat for 1 additional hour, stirring occasionally.
10. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
11. For a silkier finish, stir in a splash of whole milk and cook for another 5 minutes.
12. Measure approximately 3½–4 cups Bolognese for assembling the lasagna. Refrigerate or freeze the remaining sauce for another use.

Fresh Spinach Pasta

Ingredients:

• 170 g (6 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 225 g (8 ounces) fresh spinach or 140 g (5 ounces) frozen leaf spinach
• ¼ teaspoon salt, if cooking frozen spinach

Instructions:

1. Cook the spinach until completely tender. Drain thoroughly and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Finely chop the spinach.
2. Place the flour on a work surface and form a well in the center. Add the eggs and prepared spinach.
3. Gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs and spinach until a dough forms.
4. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes, turning it consistently as you work, until smooth and supple.
5. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Keep the pieces you aren’t working with covered.
7. Set the pasta machine to its widest setting. Flatten one piece of dough and pass it through the rollers.
8. Fold the dough into thirds and pass it through the widest setting again. Repeat two or three times.
9. Continue passing the pasta through progressively narrower settings until the sheets are very thin.
10. Lay the finished sheets separately on clean kitchen towels. Don’t overlap the sheets while they are moist.
11. Cut the sheets as necessary to fit the 12 × 8-inch baking dish. The dough should provide approximately 6–8 pasta layers, depending upon how thinly it is rolled.

Briefly Cook the Pasta

1. Bring a large, wide pot of generously salted water to a boil.
2. Working with only a few sheets at a time, carefully lower the fresh spinach pasta into the boiling water and cook very briefly, about 20–30 seconds. The goal is to partially cook the delicate pasta, not cook it completely.
3. Carefully lift the sheets from the water with a large slotted spoon or skimmer.
4. Transfer the pasta to baking sheets or rimmed trays and arrange the sheets in a single layer without overlapping.
5. Allow the pasta to cool slightly while you continue cooking the remaining sheets. If necessary, lightly moisten the sheets with a little pasta cooking water to keep them supple. Avoid routinely coating them with olive oil.

Fontina–Parmigiano Béchamel

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk, warmed
• ½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper
• Small pinch freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• ¾ cup shredded Fontina, about 3 ounces
• ⅓ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Additional warm milk, as needed

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking continuously, for about 2 minutes. Keep the roux pale and don’t allow it to brown.
3. Gradually whisk in the warm milk.
4. Continue cooking, whisking frequently, for about 6–8 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and, if desired, a small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the Fontina and stir until completely melted.
7. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and whisk until the sauce is smooth and silky.
8. The finished béchamel should be loose and easily spreadable rather than thick. If necessary, whisk in additional warm milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Assembly

Additional Ingredients:

• ½–¾ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Spread a very thin coating of béchamel over the bottom of a 12 × 8 × 3-inch baking dish.
3. Arrange a layer of briefly cooked spinach pasta over the béchamel, trimming the sheets as necessary to fit.
4. Spread approximately ½ cup Bolognese in a thin, even layer over the pasta.
5. Spoon approximately ⅓–½ cup béchamel over the Bolognese and spread it lightly.
6. Sprinkle lightly with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
7. Add another layer of spinach pasta and repeat the layering of Bolognese, béchamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
8. Continue until you have approximately 6–8 layers of pasta. Seven is an excellent target, but allow the thickness and yield of the homemade pasta to determine the final number.
9. Finish with a final layer of pasta, a thin coating of béchamel, and a generous sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
10. Bake for approximately 35–45 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling around the edges, heated completely through, and lightly browned on top.
11. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15–20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Make-Ahead

The Bolognese can be prepared 1–2 days ahead and refrigerated. Its flavor will continue to develop as it rests.

The béchamel can be prepared earlier in the day. Place plastic wrap directly against its surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate. Rewarm gently before assembling the lasagna, adding a little warm milk as necessary to restore its loose, easily spreadable consistency.

The spinach pasta is best prepared and rolled reasonably close to assembling the lasagna. Briefly cook the sheets shortly before assembly.

Tip: Keep the individual layers thin. The character of this lasagna comes from six to eight delicate layers of green pasta separated by relatively thin layers of Bolognese, béchamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano rather than a few heavy layers.