Dia's True Italian Meat Lasagna

Way back in 1854, I went to Florence.  No, it just feels like that.  It was 1986 and I went to spend a year living with college students in a villa built in 1492 in the hills of Scandicci outside Florence.  The students really bonded with one another and with the staff, especially perhaps since that was the year of the 'American bombings' in Europe.  Americans were being targeted at cafe's and tourist locations, and the running joke was that we were the students that the parents didn't care enough about to cancel their trip (like all the other parents did).  I'm so glad we didn't cancel.  One reason is that's when I met the Sicilian...

So back to the story.  The cook at the villa was Miranda.  She was the typical Tuscan momma, not tall, not thin, not afraid to hug us or invite us in her kitchen.  That's where I was every day.  My poor Italian language skills aside, I wrote down her recipes.  She was famous for her lasagna, her roast, her tortellini...ok, for everything.  She was amazing.  We did love the lasagna.

I was unable to reproduce her lasagna, though, for many years.  I unfortunately wrote this as the recipe:
Ingredients:
meat sauce
broth

white sauce

Parmesan
Layer and bake.

Of course to her, and now to me, it's simple.  But it may as well have been in Russian for all I understood about it.  It wasn't until my mother-in-law schooled me in a few things that I could discern what that mysterious lasagna was made of.

Why was it so good?  Layers of pasta, meat sauce, besciamella, Parmesan, and none of the goopy cheese or ricottas our American lasagnas force on us.  Just the good stuff.  Not one of the Italians I've known know about using ricotta in lasagna.  My mother-in-law once heard of it and said, "Why? .... I suppose you might put a little in a vegetable dish..."  Oh well.  Who knows? Perhaps some Italian out there does use ricotta.  That's all ok, because lasagna is like Hamburger Helper.  Whatever you've got you can throw in... aka everyone has their own version.  Some want grilled eggplant on a layer, or prosciutto on a layer, or sliced boiled eggs or a sprinkling of mozzarella.  It's all up to you.  Have fun.  Here's the basic recipe, which is actually our favorite.

1-2 boxes flat (not ruffled edge) lasagna noodles
2 cups Parmesan

Pot A-ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 carrots chopped small
1lg onion chopped small
Bay leaf
Olive oil
Oregano 2-3 tbsp
Salt
Cayenne or red pepper flakes dash
Red wine
Lg can tomato paste

Pot B-ingred
One stick butter
One cup flour
1.2 liter milk (5 cups)
Salt

Pot C-mix these, boil, then reduce heat to keep warm
2 cups water
1beef bouillon cube

Pot A- Ragù (meat sauce)
In a large pot (A) on medium-hi heat sauté carrots and onion in a few tbsp olive oil until soft. Add ground beef and start to brown. When it's halfway done, if there is abundant liquid, go ahead and pour or spoon it off. Then raise heat to high and move everything to the edges of the pan, leaving a space in the center.  It shouldn't have but a little juice if anything. When hot add 1/2 cup red wine to the center of pan and cover immediately to trap the steam and infuse meat with the wine.  After a minute,  remove the cover and reduce heat to medium. Stir well again, add tomato paste, add two paste cans of water and stir. Add bay leaf, 2-3 tbsp crushed oregano, dash or two cayenne or pinch of red pepper flakes, 3 tsp salt.

Simmer for 20-45 min.  Use whatever time you have.  The longer the better.  Should be thick and soupy but not watery.  Turn off, salt to taste, remove the bay leaf and set aside.

Pot B- Besciamella
In a 2qt saucepan, melt butter on medium. When melted dump in all the flour and whisk to blend. Should be thick and absorb all the butter but not leave any flour.  Cook for 3-4 minutes or till flour smell is all gone.  Dump in half the milk and whisk well to remove lumps.  Add remaining milk.  Whisk regularly to not allow to stick to bottom. Cook until the first big bubble comes up.  Remove from heat immediately, salt to taste.

You now have three pots: meat sauce, besciamella, and broth. Prepare a deep 13x9 by spraying with Pam or rubbing with butter or olive oil.  Now get set up. I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup in each of the two sauce pots to dose the sauces, and a small ladle for the broth.  Put the Parmesan in a bowl or on a paper towel to access easily.  Have you tasted your sauces?  If they don't taste good alone they won't taste good in the lasagna.  Do it and fix it now.  Need salt?  Pepper?  If the meat sauce is acidic add a spoonful of sugar.  Next, line up your ingredients in order: noodles, broth, meat sauce, white sauce, Parmesan, casserole dish.  You're ready to start.

Put a measure of meat sauce in bottom of pan and smear around. It'll be thin and bare but all over the bottom.  You don't want the noodles on the pan. Then layer-

Smear sauce in the bottom
(this is besciamella for a veg lasagna)

1. Lasagna noodles (break as needed to get into all the corners and cover the whole pan without overlapping

2. Broth-sm ladle, run over noodles letting it spill and barely wet them

3. Meat- one measure
Academia Barilla 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 L tin (Google Affiliate Ad)

4. Beciamella-one measure, then smear around w/meat sauce to touch all noodles

5. Handful Parmesan sprinkled over.

The trick is to use barely enough of everything to just touch all the noodles. You'll think you need to do more but you don't.   You don't want dry noodles so be sure every centimeter of noodle is wet.

You can throw in layers of :
Mozzarella
Ricotta (although I've never met an Italian that put ricotta with meat sauce)
Grilled eggplant
Sliced boiled egg
(don't do more than two.).
Just remember what my Sicilian mother-in-law always said...If an ingredient doesn't taste good before it goes in, it won't taste good in it.  Flavor every ingredient separately and you'll create a masterpiece. Flavor the ricotta, salt the eggplant, etc.

Finish with a besciamella layer, making sure to seal the dish with besciamella.  Spoon bits in the cracks so all the steam stays inside and cooks those noodles.  Parmesan can go on when its almost cooked, if you like, but I like it as well without and I think it's prettier.  You can blend some Parmesan in the last bit of besciamella that goes on top if you want flavor.

Bake at 375 for 45 min or till besciamella is browned,  and then take out and let sit covered with foil 15 min. Yes, it does have to sit, to set up, although my kids typically by this point are starting a rebellion for want of eating that steaming lasagna.

Note: Can prep the day before and bake the next day, or cook and freeze.

Easy direction summary:
1. Heat some broth on the stove
2. Make besciamella: melt a stick butter, whisk in a cup flour, cook 4 min, dump in 5 c milk, whisk till bubbles, salt and set aside.
3. Saute chopped carrot, onion, then when done add ground beef; when done put pot on hi, move meat, add red wine and steam covered 2-3 min; uncover, add paste water and spices, cook 15-45 min. Done.
4.  Assemble: sauce in pan first, then (pasta, broth, meat, besciamella, Parmesan) repeat 3 times, finish with besciamella.  Bake at 375 45 min, then sit 15 covered.  Enjoy!