Lasagna Bolognese

Serves 8

For the Bolognese Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, chopped fine
1 celery stalk, chopped fine
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped coarsely
3 pounds ground beef, preferably chuck
1 35 ounce can imported Italian plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup meat broth, hot
salt and pepper to taste

For the Béchamel Sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

To assemble the lasagna:
1-1/2 pounds fresh green lasagna noodles
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese

To prepare the Bolognese sauce:

1.In a large deep sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, cook stirring occasionally until translucent, about 10minutes.
2.Add the pancetta and ground beef, turn heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally until browned about 15 minutes.
3.While the meat is cooking run the tomatoes through a food mill into a bowl. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and meat broth, and season with salt and pepper. Let come to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
To prepare the Béchamel:

1.Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir with a wire whisk until it forms a paste.
2.Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate sauce pan just to the verge of boiling. Add the milk to the butter and flour mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking until smoothly combined.
3.Add the salt and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick and smooth, it should coat the back of a spoon.
To finish the lasagna:
1.Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees F.
2.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In 3 batches add the lasagna sheets to the boiling water and cook briefly, about 1 minute. Remove the sheets from the pot using a slotted spoon, place in a colander, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and spread out on clean kitchen towels.
3.Spread a thin layer of Bolognese sauce on the bottom of a 13×9 baking pan and sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese. Cover with a layer of pasta, overlapping the pasta where necessary. Cover the pasta with a thin layer of béchamel, spread a layer of bolognese on top of that, then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you place 4th layer of pasta on top.
4.Mix the remaining bechamel and bolognese sauce together, spread thinly over top layer of pasta and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place pan in oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, the top should be slightly browned and the sauces should be bubbling.