Homemade Ragu Sauce & Lasagna

Since our Italy trip, I can't get the memory of the Italian food out of my head. The food was extremely different than the Americanized-Italian food. The entrees were made with simple and only a few ingredients. And because the ingredients were all fresh, you could taste each simple ingredient within the entree... Great concept! The Italians know what they are doing, they only have been around for over a couple of thousands of years ;)

Now, I could never eat in an Americanized-Italian restaurant ever again. So, my only option is to make the food myself. I found this wonderful authentic Italian recipe website, and started my path of experimenting. So, I spent the early afternoon making my homemade Ragu Napoletano Sauce and finished the late afternoon in baking the Lasagna. Let's just say the result was amazing. It didn't taste exactly like Italy, but it was close considering the ingredients are from America, with the exception of the parmesan cheese that I brought over from Venice. My honey said it was the best lasagna he has ever had in America... that says a lot :)

Ragu Napoletano (Meat sauce) does not come from a jar. Ragu is one of, what is probably, the three most popular sauces in southern Italy. It is cooked slowly for several hours and has some kind of meat in it. The type of meat depends on your personal tastes but, traditionally it's ground beef.

Olive oil (extra virgin):	1/2 cup
Onion (fresh):	1 small
Ground Beef:	2 pounds
Tomato paste:	4-6 ounces
red table wine (semi-dry or dry):	3-4 ounces
Italian peeled plum tomatoes (canned):	2 cans (about 28 ounces each)

How to do it:

1. Preheat a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan.
2. Once it is hot put in the olive oil and onion.
3. Sautee the onion until it is tender then add the ground beef and brown it.
4. Continue to cook the ground beef until all of the water has been cooked out of the beef.
5. If you are fortunate enough to find a meat supplier who does not add water to their beef you will be able to cook the meat for a shorter period of time (let me know where you buy beef).
6. Add the tomato paste and let simmer for about five minutes, stirring often.
7. Add the wine and let simmer another five minutes, stirring often.
8. Add the Italian peeled tomatoes (chop them a little with a sharp knife as they come out of the can).
9. Simmer this sauce mixture for about three hours, occasionally adding water to prevent over-thickening and burning.
10. Stir occasionally during the simmering process.
11. Add salt when the sauce is almost done.

Important Note #1: If you salt your sauce too soon when it is still watery or thin, you run the risk of your sauce becoming salty by the time it cooks down.

Important Note #2: When making Italian tomato sauces, spend the extra few pennies and get imported peeled plum tomatoes. American canned tomatoes like Hunts are just not the correct variety for sauce because the sugar content is much higher making your sauce sweet.

Lasagna Tradizionale (Traditional) is one of the dishes that hasn't changed much since it left the "homeland". I've eaten lasagna in many places in both America and Italy and for the most part they are basically the same, but I'll include it anyway just so that you'll know you're preparing it in the authentic way.

Lasagna noodles:	1 1/2 pounds
Neapolitan Ragu Sauce (see above recipe):	as needed
bite-sized meatballs:	30 on each layer
Hard-boiled eggs (sliced thin) :	2 eggs on each layer
Italian Sausage (Optional):	1 pound
Ricotta cheese:	1 1/2 pounds
Mozzarella cheese:	1 1/2 pounds
Pamiggiano (parmesan cheese-grated):	to taste

How to do it:

1. Following cooking time instructions on the package, cook the noodles in a very large pot with plenty of water so that the noodles can't stick together. You'll need to stir them often, but very delicately with something with no sharp edges (wooden spoon).
2. When the noodles are done to your liking (they really shouldn't be al dente which is just barely done, but they shouldn't be so done that they stick to the ceiling when thrown against it either), slowly run cold water into the pot until all of the water is cool. This serves two purposes. It stops the cooking process and it keeps the noodles from sticking together.
3. Remove the noodles from the water one at a time and place them on a clean dish towel (not terry) with a little space between each one.
4. Put the ricotta in a bowl and mix a couple of ladlesful of ragu with it to give it the consistency of apple sauce.
5. Now build your lasagna.
6. In a large rectangular baking pan (±18 x 12), put a thin layer of sauce so that it completely covers the bottom of the pan.
7. Next a layer noodles (Its OK if they overlap a little).
8. Now a layer (about a 1/4 inch) of ricotta with meatballs, boiled egg, and maybe sausage generously sprinkled on top of it.
9. Finally a thin layer of sauce, again with a generous amount of mozzarella and parmiggiano cheese on top of that.
10. Repeat entire layering process until your pan is full.
11. Finish it off with a little sauce, mozzarella and parmiggiano.
12. Bake in a 375 degree oven for one hour.
13. The last five minutes you can decorate the top with some leaves of fresh basil to give that "pro touch".
14. Remove from the oven and let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature.
15. Cut into portions and serve.

Important Note #1: If you decide to include sausage, you can either fry it in the skin and slice it thinly after its cooked. OR You can squeeze it from its skin and cook it so that its crumbly. Either way is just fine.

Important Note #2: Get real mozzarella cheese, the soft white circular cheese. Do not get the shredded kind.

Recipes from www.steve-slater.com.