This is one incredible recipe for lasagna – I’ve never seen anything like it. The dish originated from Chef Dante Boccuzzi of the Aureole Restaurant in New York City, and was adapted by Star Chefs:

My Mother-in-Law’s Lasagna

Yield: 6 Servings

 

Meat sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

1 cup ground pork

1 cup ground beef

1 cup ground sausage

4 teaspoons tomato paste

1 cup white wine

1 ½ cups beef stock

4 Tablespoons heavy cream

Salt and pepper

 

Béchamel sauce

3 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups hot milk

 

Lasagna

1 pound dried lasagna pasta

4 cups meat sauce (recipe below)

4 cups béchamel sauce (recipe below)

2 cups ricotta cheese

3 sprigs fresh parsley

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 Tablespoons butter

 

For meat sauce:

In a large saucepot heat olive oil over low heat. Cook onion, carrot, and celery until tender. Add ground meats and lightly brown. Add wine and cook until it evaporates. Season with salt and pepper, and add tomato paste and stock. Simmer sauce for 1 ½ hours. Add cream and cook until reduced.

 

For béchamel sauce:

Melt butter in a small pot. Add flour and salt, stirring to make a paste. Cook gently over low heat for 5 minutes, without letting paste brown. Slowly add hot milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook sauce until thick and smooth.

 

For lasagna:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just past al dente. Remove sheets from pot and pour cold water over pasta to cool.

 

Combine béchamel sauce with parsley and ricotta cheese in a medium bowl. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Cover the bottom layer with pasta, then a layer of béchamel sauce, meat sauce and grated cheese. Place another layer of pasta and continue alternating the layers until all the ingredients are used up. The top layer should be pasta covered with grated cheese and butter. Bake for one hour or until a light golden crust has formed. Let rest for 30 minutes before serving.

I would need an entire day just to make the recipe and clean up the kitchen afterward. The dish sounds marvelous – if not sinfully rich – and I will definitely give it a shot before the year is out.