Lasagna with ragù: the best and most original recipes.

The lasagna with ragù, also known as Bolognese lasagna, is somewhat the classic Sunday dish. The aroma of this unforgettable first course immediately brings to mind lunches with our grandmothers, who cooked for hours with love and patience to make their families happy and eat in a festive atmosphere. Lasagna is such a typical and genuine pasta dish that, besides having become famous all over the world, boasts numerous variations. Every family jealously guards a recipe that is passed down from mother to child, and it's well-known that nothing beats the lasagna made at home.

Yet, partly to mix things up and partly to refine technique, it’s normal to occasionally look for some alternative recipes. Therefore, we have decided to propose some slightly different recipes, something that may help you rediscover this dish. So, let’s get to work! Put on your apron and check that you have all the ingredients at hand. Let’s begin.

Lasagna with Chianina ragù, for a gourmet dish

Here is the first proposal dedicated to meat lovers, namely the lasagna with Chianina ragù, a truly succulent dish. Chianina is a very fine meat: lean but very tender, it will add a wonderful touch to your lasagna.
You will need:
•   21 sheets of egg lasagna
•   250g of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
•   250g of ground pork
•   500g of ground Chianina
•   1l of tomato passata
•   1 large carrot
•   1 large onion
•   50g of celery
•   40g of whole milk
•   Extra virgin olive oil to taste
•   Fine salt to taste
•   Black pepper to taste
•   1 glass of white wine
•   3l of water
•   1l of fresh whole milk
•   120g of butter
•   100g of 00 flour
•   Nutmeg to taste

Finely chop the celery, peeled carrot, and onion, creating the base for your sauté. Sauté the vegetables in a pan with a little olive oil, simmering for about ten minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the ground Chianina and pork and allow the meats to brown slowly for about ten minutes, covering with a lid.
After this time, deglaze with the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate well. Only at this point can you pour in the tomato passata and the water with a pinch of salt, leaving it to cook on medium-low heat for about two hours. Adjust for salt and pepper and add the milk, cooking for another five minutes before turning it off.
Prepare the béchamel: take a small pot and heat the milk. In another pan, melt the butter in pieces over low heat and, when it is melted, remove from the heat, adding in the sifted flour and mixing vigorously. Put back on the heat and let it brown. Add the milk to the roux, then mix vigorously with a pinch of salt and nutmeg, allowing it to thicken over low heat, cooking for about 5-6 minutes. And there you have it! The béchamel is ready.
Assemble the lasagna. Distribute a drizzle of béchamel on the bottom of a baking dish, then lay the lasagna sheets and pour in a layer of béchamel and one of ragù. Sprinkle with grated Parmigiano and repeat the steps from the beginning until you finish the ingredients. Finish with another nice sprinkle of Parmigiano and it’s done! Bake in a ventilated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes. Lunch is served!

Lasagna with vegetable ragù, a vegetarian alternative

The lasagna with vegetable ragù is a valid alternative for those who do not enjoy meat or for those who would like a lighter and tastier version of lasagna. The beauty of this dish is that it drastically reduces preparation time (and also the calories of the dish!). To give flavor to this lasagna, the most important thing is to choose seasonal, flavorful, and aromatic vegetables. But let’s see the recipe.
For four people you will need:
•   250 g fresh lasagna
•   1 l tomato passata
•   1 large zucchini
•   1 bell pepper
•   200 g frozen peas
•   1 onion
•   1 carrot
•   Half a glass of white wine
•   Two mozzarella
•   80 g grated Grana cheese
•   A handful of basil
•   Pepper to taste
•   Salt to taste;
•   Extra virgin olive oil to taste.

Prepare the sauté with carrot and onion, then sauté in a pan and add the vegetables cut into cubes and the peas. Sauté over high heat for 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the vegetables with the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
At this point, add the passata and a couple of glasses of water, then adjust again for salt and pepper and let it cook for half an hour. Now you can turn off the heat and add the basil leaves.
Spread a spoonful of ragù on the bottom of a baking dish and proceed as we saw in the Chianina ragù recipe, adding mozzarella and Parmigiano between layers. Bake in the preheated ventilated oven at 180°C for about fifteen minutes, then let cool and serve.
Enjoy your meal!

And for the more delicate palates? A fish ragù lasagna

The lasagna with fish ragù is a delicate and refined alternative, perfect even for festive occasions. The protagonists are the flavors of the sea enhanced by a fragrant ragù.
For four people:
•   250g of lasagna sheets
•   100g of shrimp
•   100g of scorpion fish fillet
•   150g of monkfish
•   1 carrot
•   1 onion
•   1 stalk of celery
•   1l of tomato passata
•   100g of 00 flour
•   1 glass of white wine
•   1l of fish stock
•   1 clove of garlic
•   A handful of parsley
•   Salt to taste
•   Pepper to taste
•   Extra virgin olive oil to taste.

Start by frying the garlic in a couple of tablespoons of oil, then remove it and let the sauté mixture wilt over low heat. Cut the fish and peeled shrimp into cubes and sauté everything in the pan, deglazing after five minutes with the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate and then add the tomato and cook for about ten minutes over low heat. Adjust for salt and turn off.
Now, let’s make the “béchamel.”
Heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan, add the sifted flour and toast the roux for a couple of minutes. Pour in the boiling fish stock while stirring continuously and let it cook for a few minutes. In the end, you should obtain a sauce thick as béchamel.
Proceed with the assembly: spread a layer of fish béchamel on the bottom, place a layer of pasta, distribute a generous ladle of fish ragù, and then cover with more béchamel. Continue layering until you have used all the ingredients, then bake in a static oven at 180°C for about half an hour.
Once cooked, let it cool slightly and sprinkle generously with chopped parsley, serving of course with a good glass of white wine at the right temperature.

Lasagna with ragù: multiple variations, a feast of flavors and aromas

We have tried to give you some ideas to please all tastes and provide ideas for every occasion, but remember that lasagna is a dish that can truly be reinvented. It is essentially a fresh egg pasta that needs to be drowned in a good creamy sauce and served with the classic layered composition, so it is subject to different interpretations.
You could try, for example, a zucchini and sausage lasagna, a mushroom ragù lasagna, a vegan ragù lasagna, or why not, a truffle-scented lasagna.
Experiment! For the rest, there’s no need to reiterate: we at Spaghetti&Mandolino will be here to welcome you with open arms if you want to look for some specific ingredients to make your lasagna unique.
We are waiting for you!