Lasagna the Naples Way

By @nonna_maria, Naples, Italy

Béchamel, never ricotta — a slow ragù and pasta thin enough to read through.

In Naples we do not put ricotta in lasagna. I know this upsets people, and I have made peace with upsetting people. My grandmother made it with a ragù she started after breakfast and a béchamel she made by feel. The pasta should be thin enough to read a newspaper through. And the corners — where the cheese catches the edge of the dish and crisps — are the best part. We have fought over those corners for three generations.

Ingredients

• 1 lb thin lasagna sheets
• 2 lb mixed beef and pork mince
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 800g tin San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 3 cups whole milk, for the béchamel
• 60g butter
• 60g flour
• 150g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• pinch nutmeg

Method

1. Soften the onion in olive oil, then brown the meat well in batches — colour is flavour.
2. Add the wine and let it reduce, then the tomatoes. Simmer low for at least two hours into a thick, glossy ragù.
3. Make the béchamel: melt the butter, whisk in the flour, then add the warm milk slowly. Season with salt and nutmeg and cook until it coats the back of a spoon.
4. Layer: ragù, pasta, béchamel, a dusting of Parmigiano. Repeat, finishing with béchamel and a heavy hand of cheese.
5. Bake at 200°C for 35–40 minutes until the top is golden and the edges crisp.
6. Rest for 20 minutes before cutting. This is not optional.