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Bolognese and Bechamel Lasagna

Layers of pasta, homemade Bolognese sauce and creamy cheesy bechamel sauce. It's baked to golden perfection.
5 from 1 vote
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Course Dinner

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz lasagna noodles cooked to al dente

Bolognese Sauce

  • 1 onion diced
  • 3/4 c carrots diced
  • 1/2 c celery diced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lb lean ground beef 90% lean
  • 1/2 lb ground pork (or Italian sausage)
  • 7 oz pancetta
  • 1 c red wine (I used red blend)
  • 1 c whole milk
  • 6 oz tomato paste (small can)
  • 6 oz water (just fill the tomato paste can)
  • 28 oz Marzano Tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Bechamel Sauce

  • 5 tbsp salted butter
  • 5 tbsp flour (1/4 c + 1 tbsp)
  • 2 1/2 c whole milk
  • 1 1/4 c heavy whipping cream
  • 1 c parmesan cheese grated, leveled
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Instructions
 

  • Cook pancetta in a pot over medium heat until brown and caramelized. Remove from the pan and set on paper towels.
  • Add diced onions to the pot with the rendered pancetta fat. Add olive oil if there isn't enough fat. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add peeled, diced carrots and diced celery to the pot and stir. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes. Stir often.
  • Add minced garlic, stir and cook 2 minutes more.
  • Add lean ground beef and ground pork to the pot of vegetables and break up the meat. Cook until brown and caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. Stir often.
  • If a lot of fat has been rendered, pinch a paper towel with some tongs and sop up the fat. A little fat is okay just not a lot.
  • Add pancetta back to the pot and stir.
  • Deglaze the pot with the red wine. Stir and allow the wine to cook out for 5 minutes.
  • Add the milk and allow to cook down for 5 minutes.
  • Once there is no longer any visible milk in the pot add the Marzano tomatoes with the juices in the can to the pot along with the tomato paste and water.
  • Break up the tomatoes and stir until everything is combined and there are no longer huge hunks of tomato.
  • Add salt, pepper, sugar and the bay leaves. Stir, cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Stir every 20 minutes adding a little water if the sauce dries out too much.
  • In the last 20 minutes of the Bolognese cooking, boil the lasagna noodles to al dente and begin the bechamel sauce.
  • To a pan melt butter over medium heat.
  • Add flour to the melted butter and constantly whisk for 2 minutes.
  • Slowly add the whole milk and heavy whipping cream, whisking constantly.
  • Once bubbling add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Whisk and allow to thicken for 10 minutes. Stir often.
  • Strain lasagna noodles and rinse so you can handle them.
  • To a 9x13 pan add a layer of Bolognese to the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of pasta, overlapping the edges slightly.
  • Add a layer of Bolognese followed by a layer of bechamel and then more pasta. Continue this pattern until you run out of pasta. If you can't live without cheese pulls, you can add a layer of shredded mozzarella as well.
  • Top with parmesan cheese and bake at 375 for 40 minutes covering with foil the first 20 minutes. Broil for color at the end.
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