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La Pasta
Il Sugo
Béchamel Sauce
Mix flour and salt
Make a mound out of the flour mixture on a wide, flat surface. Shape it into a ring.
Mix eggs with a fork until smooth and mixed. Add a bit of olive oil if needed.
Pour eggs into the flour ring. Using a fork, mix the eggs into the flour a little at a time at the edges. Don’t break the flour ring. Once creamy and thick, incorporate all the flour.
Knead into a smooth glossy ball, wrap in plastic and put into the refrigerator.
La Pasta
Il Sugo
Pass the vegetables through a grinder into a bowl. It will be wet and very finely minced.
Heat a dutch oven with a generous pour of olive oil. Fry the vegetables till soft and starting to caramelize.
Add the meat, all at once, stirring to incorporate with the vegetables.
Cook for quite some time till the meat begins to brown and caramelize. Small bits will look overcooked.
Add the red wine, scraping up the browned bits stuck to the pan. Allow the wine to mostly evaporate. There should not be an alcohol smell, just fruity wine.
Add the tomato paste, Stir to incorporate, let the paste turned deeper in color before adding the passata all at once.
Add the water and a handful of salt. Cook this on very low for 3-4 hours (longer is better). Add water if the mixture dries out. It’s critical to remain moist throughout the whole cooking time.
Béchamel
Heat the milk (add a clove of smashed garlic if desired)
Melt the butter, stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for a few minutes till the flour smell is gone. It may deepen in color, but brown is too far.
Add the milk in a steady stream while whisking constantly. It may go very thick at first, but should be smooth and pourable at the end.
Grate in some nutmeg and add the salt. Keep warm and whisk occasionally to keep the lumps from forming.
Roll the pasta dough, by hand or through a pasta machine to the thinnest setting ( it will get thicker as it cooks).
Cut the sheets to whatever size makes sense for your pan.
Cook the pasta sheets in boiling water for a few minutes each, then douse in ice water before placing in the pan.
Prepared the pasta
Assemble
Butter a lasagna pan. Choose a size that works for you. Create layers, always béchamel first, then pasta, sugo, parmesan cheese. Repeat for at least 4 layers, more is OK.
Cook
Place in a pre-heated 330° oven. Cover with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Let the dish rest under a towel for 10 minutes after removing from the oven.