Bolognese Lasagna with Porcini-Ricotta Filling

I have dreamed of making a great lasagna.  You know the real Italian kind that’s labor intensive and that has your heart in it from start to finish.  And yes, this is that recipe!  This is not a recipe that you can make at the spur of the moment.  It will take a little over an hour to put it together and about an hour to bake it, but it is so worth it!

Back in June I purchased Make & Take by Better Homes and Gardens and this recipe just stood out.  The red sauce is made with red wine, pancetta and whole milk.  The white sauce is made with white wine, Porcini mushrooms, and Ricotta cheese.  Three years ago before I started writing this blog I did not know Bolognese from Bolgna, but after spending so much time reading cookbooks and blogs Bolognese is everywhere!  Can you say bow-low-Knees?  We are talking about layers of flavor here.  It’s not heavy like most lasagna I have had.  It’s just plain good!    It’s the best stuff I’ve had in a long time!  And  you’ll have enough to  invite at least eight of your best friends over because it feeds twelve.

For you novice cooks, this is not a hard recipe at all.  It just has a lot of steps and takes some time.  In the end you will be rewarded with a beautiful dish of the most wonderful lasagna  ever and lots of compliments that you thought you would never get!

While the red sauce is cooking cook the white sauce.

Cook your noodles and you are ready to put this together.

Bolognese Lasagna with Porcini-Ricotta Filling from Better Homes and Gardens

Yield: 12 servings ( 487 calories per serving)

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Italian sausage bulk or out of the casing
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot ( 1 medium)
• 1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 15 dried lasagna noodles
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( 4 ounces)
• chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
• Porcini-Parmesan Sauce recipe below

Directions:

1. For the meat sauce, in a Dutch oven cook sausage, ground beef, onion, pancetta, carrot, sweet pepper, celery, and garlic over medium-high heat until meat is brown and onion is tender, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks.  Drain off fat.
2. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, basil and oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer.
4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. While this sauce is simmering make the Porcini-Parmesan Sauce below.  
6. Stir in milk and basil and oregano.
7. Cook lasagna noodles according to the package.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Spread about 1 cup of meat sauce over the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.  I love my Pyrex dish for this!
10. Top with 3 noodles.  Cover with about 3 cups of meat sauce.
11. Top with 3 more noodles.
12. Pour half of the Porcini-Ricotta filling over the noodles.
13. Repeat with 3 more noodles, 2 cups of meat sauce, and the remaining Porcini-ricotta filling.
14. Top with the last 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce.
15. Place the baking dish in a foil lined baking pan.  ( it will cook over a little)
16. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
17. Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
18. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or more until heated through.
19. Let it stand for 20 minutes before serving.  If you don’t let it stand the layers will slide apart.  Not very pretty.

Porcini-Parmesan Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 15 ounce ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for the Porcini-Parmesan Sauce:

*I cooked this sauce while the red sauce cooked for 30 minutes

1. Place mushrooms in a small bowl; add enough boiling water to cover.
2. Let them stand for 10 minutes, drain.  Rinse with cold water.  Drain again.  Chop mushrooms and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan cook and stir four cloves garlic, minced, in 3 tablespoons hot butter over medium heat for 30 seconds .
4. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour until combined.
5. Slowly stir in 1 1/2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup white wine.  This may curdle.  Mine did and it will smooth out.  Don’t worry!
6. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat.
7. Stir in the mushrooms, one 15-ounce carton ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, parsley, basil and salt.

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