Lasagne verdi alla bolognese

How to make it at home: Lasagne verdi alla bolognese — ingredients, steps, safety tips.

Time: About 1½ hours plus the ragù · Yield: 8 servings (25 × 35 cm dish)

Ingredients

About 1 kg ragù alla bolognese
400 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated just before use
For the béchamel: 100 g type 00 flour, 1 litre fresh whole milk, fine salt, nutmeg
About 200 g butter (for the béchamel and the layers)
For the green pasta: 700 g type 00 flour, 3 fresh eggs, 350 g boiled spinach, well squeezed and chopped
Salt for the water

Make the ragù alla bolognese in advance.
Knead the flour, eggs and spinach into a firm, smooth dough, roll it out thinly and cut into rectangles about 15 × 10 cm.
Béchamel: melt part of the butter, stir in the flour, add the milk gradually while stirring and cook until it thickens; season with salt and nutmeg. It should be creamy and light.
Cook the sheets a few at a time in salted water, lift them out as soon as they float, dip briefly in cold water and dry on a cotton or linen cloth.
Butter a dish 25 × 35 cm and at least 6 cm deep, spread a little ragù and béchamel and cover with sheets. Add a thin layer of béchamel, plenty of ragù, flakes of butter and a generous amount of Parmigiano; prick the sheets 3–4 times with a toothpick to prevent air bubbles.
Repeat for at least 6 layers. Finish with a sheet topped with ragù mixed with a little béchamel, butter flakes and Parmigiano; put a flake of butter in each corner of the dish.
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 25–30 minutes, rest for 5 minutes and serve.

The recipe was approved by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Bologna San Luca delegation) on 28 May 2003 and deposited at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on 4 July 2003.
Use béchamel sparingly and ragù generously, but not excessively.
Ready-made dried lasagne sheets are a common shortcut, but the deposited recipe uses fresh green spinach pasta.

Servings: 8