While his Melbourne pasta bar is a popular spot, it’s never served up this dish before; Andreas Papadakis shares the lasagna recipe he uses at home, and how to make the undertaking more efficient.
We’ve never had lasagne on the menu at Tipo, but I’ve made many versions at home over the years. As there are quite a few elements to make, it can be really time consuming and not so much fun to try and do everything from scratch on the day. I always have at least the ragu made in advance, but if the pasta dough is ready to go too, then it streamlines the rest of the process. And if you’re really pushed for time, ready-made fresh lasagne sheets from your local deli would also work well.
- Roll the pasta dough into sheets 2-3mm thick and about 10-12cm wide, roughly the width of the rollers in most pasta machines. You should be able to get 8-10 sheets, which will give you a lasagne of 4-5 layers. Lightly dust the pasta sheets with semolina flour and set aside.
- For the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Gradually whisk in the warm milk until smooth, then cook for 10 minutes over the lowest possible heat to thicken, stirring to avoid the sauce catching on the bottom. Remove from the heat, stir in the parmesan and season with salt, pepper and a hint of nutmeg. If you made the ragu Bolognese ahead of time, put it into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer; you may need to add a little water or stock to loosen it up. Do the same with the tomato sauce. When you have all your components ready to go, preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced.
- To assemble your lasagne, choose a baking dish about 35 × 24cm. Set aside roughly a third of the parmesan for the top, then start building the layers. Spread 3-4 spoons of the ragu over the bottom of your baking dish, followed by a couple of spoons of the tomato sauce, just so the pasta sheets don’t stick. Lay in two sheets of pasta side by side and randomly spoon dollops of the bechamel over the top, then spoon over another layer of ragu and tomato sauce and sprinkle with some parmesan. Continue this layering process until all the pasta, ragu and tomato sauce is used, then finish with the reserved parmesan.
- Cook the lasagne, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes. Check on it after 45 minutes: if the top is getting too dark, reduce the oven temperature to 150C; if it looks too pale, increase the temperature to 200C for the remaining cooking time. Once it’s ready, let it rest for an hour before cutting and serving.
- Place a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and both meats and brown for about 5 minutes, or until it starts caramelising, breaking it up as it cooks — a whisk is good for this. If your pan isn’t big enough to hold it all comfortably, do this in two batches.
- Remove the meat with a slotted spoon, so the rendered fat stays in the pan, and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pan and cook slowly until soft, at least 5 minutes — you may need to add a little more oil, depending on how much fat has rendered from the meat.
- Return the meat to the pan, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, then pour in the wine, stirring to deglaze, and simmer until almost completely evaporated.
- Wrap the cloves, thyme and bay leaf in a piece of muslin and tie with string. Add this to the pan and pour in the stock, then season with salt and pepper.
- Cover with a lid and let the ragu simmer over low heat for 45 minutes-1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if it gets too dry.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, around 6–8 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and stir well, then bring to a slow simmer.
- Turn the heat down to low and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom.
- Taste and season with salt, then take off the heat and let the sauce rest for 15 minutes before you add the basil.
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Advertise with NZME.Note: We normally pass this sauce through a vegetable mill while it’s still hot. If you don’t have one, you can just use a whisk to crush the tomatoes — don’t be tempted to blitz the sauce with a blender, or you’ll lose its pleasingly rustic texture.
Edited extract from Tipo 00: The Pasta Cookbook by Andreas Papadakis, $55, published by Murdoch Books
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