Lasanha à Bolonhesa

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-liter pot
• •Medium saucepan
• •Whisk
• •9 by 13 inch baking dish
• •Aluminum foil

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the refogado

   Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, until it goes soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, just until you smell it. This is the base of the sauce, so let the onion murchar properly and don't burn the garlic, because burnt garlic turns bitter and follows you through the whole tray.

2. 2

   Brown the meat

   Add the ground beef, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper. Break it up with a spoon and cook until the meat loses its raw color, then keep cooking until the liquid disappears and the bottom of the pot starts to show browned bits, about 10 to 12 minutes. If the pot is too crowded or too cold, the meat steams grey instead of dourar, and grey meat has the personality of wet cardboard.

   If your pot is small, brown the meat in two batches. More space means better color, and better color means better sauce.
3. 3

   Simmer the sauce

   Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it darkens a shade and sticks a little to the pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, and bay leaf, scraping the bottom to pull up the browned bits. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce thickens and tastes round instead of sharp. If it spits angrily, lower the heat. Sauce should bubble lazily, not attack you.

4. 4

   Make molho branco

   In a medium pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, until it smells a little nutty but stays pale. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking the whole time, then add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg if using. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 6 to 8 minutes. The flour needs those first 2 minutes so the sauce won't taste raw, and the slow milk keeps lumps from moving in and paying rent.

5. 5

   Prepare the pasta

   If using oven-ready sheets, keep them dry and make sure both sauces are loose enough to moisten them. If using regular sheets, boil them in salted water just until flexible, then lay them flat on a clean towel. Don't cook them until soft-soft. They still have time in the oven, and overcooked pasta turns mushy between the layers.

6. 6

   Layer the tray

   Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish so the pasta doesn't stick. Add pasta, meat sauce, molho branco, and mussarela, then repeat until you have 3 or 4 pasta layers. Finish with molho branco, mussarela, and parmesan on top. Spread sauce all the way to the corners, because dry corners are where good intentions go to suffer.

7. 7

   Bake covered

   Cover the dish with foil, tenting it slightly so it doesn't glue itself to the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until the center is hot and the sauces are bubbling around the edges. Covered baking gives the pasta time to soften and the layers time to settle before the top takes color.

8. 8

   Brown and rest

   Remove the foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the top is golden in spots and the edges look glossy and thick. Let the lasanha rest for 15 minutes before cutting. I know. Torture. But if you cut too soon, the layers slide everywhere and you'll call it a failure when it was only impatience.

Chef Tips

• •Use plain ground beef with enough fat to brown well. Very lean meat dries out before the sauce gets good, and then people start blaming the tomato.
• •Tomato passata or crushed tomatoes are an honest shortcut. They save chopping and still give you real tomato. Powdered sauce mix is not a shortcut, it's a packet asking you to forget how onion and garlic work.
• •Mussarela is the Brazilian Sunday choice here. It melts soft and stretchy. Parmesan on top brings salt and color, so use a little, not a snowfall.
• •Make a green salad or sautéed couve on the side. Lasanha may take the place of the rice and beans for one meal, but the everyday plate still teaches us balance: something filling, something savory, something green.
• •If your sauce tastes sour, simmer longer before adding sugar. Tomatoes calm down with time. Sugar can help a harsh can, but it can't replace cooking.

Advance Preparation

• •The meat sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge, or frozen for up to 3 months.
• •The whole lasanha can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate, then bake straight from the fridge, adding 10 to 15 minutes to the covered baking time.
• •Baked lasanha keeps 4 days in the fridge. Reheat covered so the pasta warms through before the top dries out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 305g)