Lasagna di Carnevale (Neapolitan Lasagna)

Prepare the ragu (1 day in advance)

1. Follow the recipe to make our Ragu alla Napoletana. Keep all of the sauce and beef for this recipe. The sausages and ribs in the sauce can be eaten as they are not needed here. Making the ragu 1 day in advance is not only easier for timing but it tastes even better the next day.

Prep the pasta dough

1. Place the flour on a clean work surface and create a wide well in the middle. Add 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk to the well.
2. Using a fork whisk the eggs whilst slowly incorporating the flour until it’s combined and looks like a very rough dough. You may need to use your hands once most of the egg is incorporated to help it along.
3. Bring the dough together with your hands to form a ball. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it’s smooth and pliable. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Note: if you prep the pasta the day before place it in the fridge and bring it to room temp before using. You can find a visual guide to making homemade pasta here.

To make the meatballs

1. Tear up the slice of bread and let it soak in a bowl with milk until soft.
2. Meanwhile, blitz the beef brisket in a food processor. If using ground beef mince just add it straight to a mixing bowl.
3. Put blitzed beef in a mixing bowl with finely chopped parsley, grated Pecorino (or Parmigiano) and 1 egg. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and crumble the bread into the meat mixture. Add a pinch of salt then mix everything until well combined.
4. Roll the meat mixture into tiny meatballs, we use about ½ teaspoon of mixture per meatball (you should get between 60-70 meatballs).
5. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large pan. Once hot fry the meatballs until browned in batches, let them drain on kitchen paper.

Ricotta mixture

1. Put the ricotta in a bowl with a spoonful of sauce (about ¼ cup/60ml), mix together until well combined.

Roll out pasta dough

1. Cut the pasta dough into quarters. Work with one-quarter at a time and keep the rest wrapped up.
2. Set up your pasta machine and dust your work surface and machine lightly with flour.
3. Flatten your piece of dough and roll it through the widest setting. Fold one end of the pasta into the middle and the other end directly over it (like a leaflet) press it to flatten and pass it through the widest setting again. Repeat this process 1 more time.
4. Now pass the dough through each setting once (without folding) until you reach the second last setting (usually number 7).

Blanch the pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F.
2. Note: I find it easier for space to roll out the pasta and blanch it in batches as I’m assembling the lasagna.
3. Cut the lasagna sheets to fit the size of your dish then blanch them in the boiling water for about 10-20 seconds. Gently remove the sheets with kitchen tongs and place on a clean kitchen towel.
4. Repeat the rolling out and blanching process with each quarter of dough (as I mentioned you might find it easier to assemble that blanched pasta as you go).

Assemble the lasagna

1. Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce on the bottom of your lasagna dish. Lay over 1 layer of blanched pasta (you can cut any overlaps).
2. Spoon more tomato sauce over the pasta followed by a few dollops of ricotta. Spread it out to cover the pasta.
3. Sprinkle over around 15 meatballs and pieces of hard-boiled egg. Add some mozzarella then a grating of Pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano.
4. Repeat the layers. You should have 5 layers of pasta in total with 4 layers of filling. Finish the very top layer of pasta with sauce and grated Pecorino or Parmigiano (no mozzarella).
5. Bake uncovered 180C/350F for 40-45 mins. Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.