Description
Lasagna di Carnevale is a traditional Neapolitan layered pasta dish that combines rich homemade ragu, tender meatballs, fresh pasta sheets, ricotta, mozzarella, and hard-boiled eggs, baked to perfection. This special lasagna is prepared over several stages, including making the ragu a day in advance and crafting fresh pasta, delivering deep, authentic flavors ideal for festive occasions.
Ingredients
Ragu alla Napoletana
- 1 batch Ragu alla Napoletana (prepared 1 day in advance, see notes)
Meatballs
- 1 thick slice crusty bread (crusts removed, 50g/2oz)
- ⅓ cup (80ml) milk
- 1 egg
- 8 oz (250g) beef brisket or ground beef
- Small handful fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup (30g) Pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano (finely grated, plus extra for layering)
- Sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil) for frying
- Pinch of salt
Pasta Dough
- 300 g 00 flour (2 and ¼ cups, spooned and levelled)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
Cheese and Fillings
- 2 cups (500g/1.1 lb) Ricotta
- 3 hard boiled eggs (peeled and sliced or chopped)
- 8.8 oz (250g) fresh mozzarella (about 2 balls)
Instructions
- Prepare the ragu (1 day in advance): Follow the Ragu alla Napoletana recipe to make the sauce including the beef. Discard sausage and ribs from the sauce for this recipe. Preparing the ragu a day ahead improves flavor and eases timing.
- Prep the pasta dough: Pour the flour on a clean surface and create a well. Add 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk into the well. Whisk eggs with a fork, gradually incorporating flour until a rough dough forms. Knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Wrap in cling film and let rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Make the meatballs: Tear bread and soak it in milk until soft. Blitz the beef brisket in a food processor or if using ground beef add it directly to a mixing bowl. Combine blitzed meat, chopped parsley, grated Pecorino, 1 egg, and crumbled soaked bread (squeezed out milk). Add a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly and form tiny meatballs using about ½ teaspoon mixture each, yielding 60-70 meatballs.
- Fry the meatballs: Heat about 1 inch of sunflower oil in a large pan. Fry meatballs in batches until browned. Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
- Prepare ricotta mixture: In a bowl, blend ricotta with approximately ¼ cup (60ml) of the prepared ragu sauce until combined well.
- Roll out pasta dough: Divide dough into four quarters. Roll out one portion at a time, keeping the rest covered. Use a pasta machine dusted lightly with flour. Flatten dough, fold it twice like a leaflet, and roll through the widest setting twice. Then pass dough through each setting once, up to the second last (usually #7) for thin sheets.
- Blanch the pasta sheets: Bring a large salted pot of water to a boil, preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Cut the rolled sheets to match your dish size and blanch in boiling water for 10-20 seconds. Remove with tongs and place on a clean towel to dry. Repeat with remaining dough portions.
- Assemble the lasagna: Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. Lay a layer of blanched pasta sheets. Add more sauce, dollops of ricotta mixture, roughly 15 meatballs, chopped hard-boiled egg pieces, torn mozzarella, and grated Pecorino or Parmigiano. Repeat layering until you have 5 pasta layers and 4 filling layers. Top with sauce and grated Pecorino only (no mozzarella).
- Bake the lasagna: Bake uncovered in the preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 40-45 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving to set layers and enhance flavors.
Notes
- Making the ragu a day ahead allows the flavors to deepen and simplifies the assembly process.
- If preparing pasta dough in advance, refrigerate it wrapped in cling film and bring to room temperature before rolling out.
- Sausages and ribs from the ragu can be eaten separately; only the sauce and beef in this recipe are used for lasagna.
- Use 00 flour for the ideal texture of pasta dough; all-purpose flour can be substituted but may alter the texture slightly.
- Blanch pasta sheets briefly to prevent them from drying out and ensure proper layering without cracking.
- Be sure to drain the fried meatballs well to avoid excess oil in the lasagna layers.
- You can prepare the meatballs the day before and refrigerate until assembly to save time.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
