Bianco by Chris Bianco

Author:Chris Bianco
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2017-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

LASAGNA AL FORNO

In Italian American cooking, lasagna without ricotta is practically a sacrilege. And in Italy, lasagna layered with ricotta isn’t uncommon. But in Naples, where the first formal recipes for lasagna appeared, the pasta sheets were layered more simply, with just ragù, besciamella (béchamel), and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I’ve riffed on that Neapolitan style here but taken it a notch further toward minimalism—this guy is meatless. This is a dish I’d serve, along with a beautiful big green salad, if friends were coming over for dinner and a low-key night of wine and conversation around the table.

Serves 8

FOR THE BESCIAMELLA

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

2 bay leaves, preferably fresh

1 white or yellow onion, halved

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

FOR ASSEMBLING THE LASAGNA

3¾ cups Crushed Tomato Sauce

12 oven-ready lasagna noodles (from an 8-ounce package)

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

12 fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the besciamella: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour, whisking as you go, and continue to whisk until completely smooth. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the mixture (roux) until it turns a light golden color, 5 to 7 minutes, whisking occasionally to prevent scorching.

Meanwhile, combine the milk, bay leaves, and onion in a medium saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, over high heat until the milk is just shy of boiling, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, remove the onion and bay leaves, and discard.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the roux, whisking constantly, and increase the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce is the consistency of a thick gravy, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the salt and nutmeg, and stir.

To assemble the lasagna: Ladle ¾ cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Dollop a scant ½ cup of the besciamella evenly over the tomato sauce. Top with 3 of the lasagna noodles, covering the sauces completely. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Dollop another ½ cup of the besciamella over the noodles and spoon another ¾ cup of the remaining tomato sauce over the besciamella, filling in all the bare spots. Sprinkle ½ cup of the Parmigiano over the sauces and top with 3 of the basil leaves. Top with 3 more lasagna noodles, and continue the layering so that you have a total of 4 layers of noodles, with a final layer of the remaining Parmigiano and basil leaves.

Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover the lasagna and bake for about 20 minutes longer, until the top layer is crusty around the edges. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.

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