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Authentic Lasagna

Matthew_77468

Hey everyone,

There is a fantastic Italian place in St. James, NY called Trattoria (not the same as the one in Manhattan!). Now, I will preface by saying that I generally am not huge on tomato based sauces and even less interested in Ricotta.

This place is a tiny little BYOB restaurant with only 6 or 7 tables. Everything we ate (38$ Prix Fix) was extraordinary. In particular, their ricotta (both fresh with bread and in the lasagna) was absolutely delicious.

Since my visit a year ago, I have been trying to create a lasagna nearly as good. I must admit, I am stumped. Their lasagna definitely does not taste like any other lasagna I've had in America. I am planning on making everything (except maybe mozarella) myself for another attempt next week, so I'm searching for some advice. What might these pros from Italy do that I can't seem to find anywhere else?

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ttpoker

Just finished a bolognese this morning, and I am not so sure a PC would finish the job the same way because the liquid components need to steam off through reduction. For a big meaty red sauce a PC is the way to go, but I am unsure if its the right tool for a true bolognese which has most of the liquid reduced off. I agree could be interesting for pressure caramelization, I'll give that a spin sometime.

matthew.snyder77

You could use it to caramelize onions and carrots, puree that and add to the sofrito already in the ragu. Or you could just do the whole shebang in the PC, probably knock the cook time down to 15-20 minutes.

ttpoker

What would you choose to do to modernise the cooking of a bolognese sauce in a pressure cooker?

Matthew_77468

Yep! I'd love to, but I can't find Rennet near me

tuckatodd

making your mozz is easy! google it. its worth the end result.

Matthew_77468

That sounds fantastic. It seemed like there was ricotta between the layers, but I could be wrong. Either way, if I could get the ricotta to taste like it did there - I would put it in the lasagna! I'll let you know how it goes.

Jack_Mayer_85396

Bolognese for me has always been +/- equal parts ground beef/veal/pork and some chicken livers. And milk and some diced up pancetta or proscuitto ends ...

matthew.snyder77

I just looked at their menu, and they bill it as 'Lasagna Bolognese'. That means (in all likelihood) no ricotta or tomato.

Ragù Bolognese is one of those things where everyone in Emilia-Romagna agrees on two things: 1) Their mom/aunt/grandmother makes the best ragù, because 2) there's is the only 'right' way to make it. There are as many recipes as there are cooks, but generally you will almost always find the following:

- More than one kind of meat, often skewing towards pork

- Use of dry, white wine (like a Trebbiano)

- A relatively small amount of tomato paste

- Possible appearance of milk (more common the further out of Bologna you go)

Lasagna Bolognese will be made with the cooked ragù, layered with bechamel sauce and fresh pasta made with spinach. (This tends to be the step most often skipped in home kitchens, imo)

My basic ragù is: 1 part ground pork, 1 part ground veal, 1/2 part finely diced pancetta (proscuitto is fairly common, too). Sofrito of onion, carrot and celery (and I use a bit more carrot than usual) diced as fine as the meat. Garlic? Up to you, but don't use much. Tomato paste. Dry white wine. Milk.

Brown meats over high, reserve. Lower heat, sweat veggies til translucent. (Most recipes will have you add the meats to the sweated veggies; but I'm a rebel.) Add tomato paste, cook til it looks like a rusty brick. (If using, add garlic at this point and cook til it's fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, tops) Add wine to deglaze, but do not reduce. Return meat, add milk, mix well. Control heat at a bare simmer, cook for ~90 minutes. I like the consistency to be fairly tight but still wet. If you use milk, the color will be sort of a muted brown, not red.

New trick I tried last time, from Kenji over at Serious Eats, was to supplement the umami with fish sauce. Not entirely sure I liked it, but I didn't not like it, either, you know?