Lasagna with Fresh Pasta, Bolognese and Pecorino Cheese Sauce

***RECIPE, MAKES 12-15 PORTIONS***

For the pasta:

4 cups all-purpose flour
7 eggs
8 oz spinach
salt

For the cheese sauce:

1 stick of butter
3/4-1 cup flour
1 whole head of garlic
half-gallon of milk
7 oz grated pecorino cheese

For topping:

1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
fresh basil

For the tomato sauce:

olive oil
a few cloves of garlic
1/2 an onion or a few shallots
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
glug of white wine
pepper
salt

That recipe makes about twice as much sauce as is needed for the lasagna. When it's done, cool it down and put the whole batch in the fridge. Whatever you don't use in the lasagna, you can freeze later.

DAY TWO: Make the pasta, make the cheese sauce, assemble and pre-bake the lasagna

In boiling water, cook the spinach for about two minutes or until just wilted. Remove it to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set the green color.

In a food processor, mix four eggs, two cups of flour and a teaspoon of salt until it comes together into a single dough ball. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap.

Squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach. Mix it in the food processor with three eggs, a teaspoon of salt and two cups of flour until a single ball forms. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap.

Chill both dough balls in the fridge while you make the cheese sauce. Take the bolognese out of the fridge to let it warm up a bit.

Start the cheese sauce by adding a stick of butter to a large pan, turn on medium heat and let it melt. While it's melting, peel and chop a whole head of garlic. Whisk just enough flour into the butter to make a thick, smooth roux (no more than a cup), then add the garlic. Whisk in the milk, little by little, until smooth.

Remove the sauce from the heat and let it come off the boil. Grate in all of the pecorino cheese and stir until reasonably smooth. Taste for seasoning, and add salt until it tastes a little too salty.

With a standard, 6-inch-wide pasta roller, roll out the yellow dough ball on the widest setting. Dust it with flour, fold it back up again, and roll it through again. Repeat the process until it rolls out smooth. Reduce the thickness by one or two notches, then roll it through again. Repeat until you've run it through on the second-to-thinnest setting.

Cut the pasta sheets so they are 1-2 inches shorter than the pan in which you plan to bake the lasagna (they will expand when boiled). I recommend a disposable 11x19 inch aluminum baking pan, available in most U.S. supermarkets. Cut each sheet up the middle, lengthwise, to make two long ribbons.

Boil the ribbons in a large pot of salted water until they puff up and float aggressively, about two minutes. Remove them to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

Clear a table, and cover it with clean kitchen towels. Lay out each ribbon of pasta onto the towels and wipe their top-sides with another towel to get them all reasonably dry.

Repeat the entire process with the green pasta dough.

Rub the baking dish with olive oil, lay in the first layer of pasta, followed by a thin layer of one of the sauces. Alternate the sauces and the two pasta colors until you run out of pasta to make additional layers. (I get seven layers.) On the final layer, just dab little blobs of both sauces across the top.

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Cool, cover, then refrigerate overnight.

DAY THREE: Make tomato sauce, assemble the final dish, eat (finally)

To make the tomato sauce, peel and chop the garlic and onion/shallots. Fry in olive oil until just soft. Put in the tomato paste and fry a bit more, then dump in the crushed tomatoes and a splash of wine. Simmer for a half hour, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Roughly grate the pound of mozzarella.

Take the lasagna out of the fridge and cut it into 12-18 slices, depending on the desired portion size. Oil three baking sheets, and lift the slices onto the sheets, keeping them as far apart from each other as possible. Top each slice with mozzarella.

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes (ideally on convection setting). If the cheese is not brown enough by the end, finish each pan under the broiler.

Coat plates with a thin layer of tomato sauce, place the slices onto the the sauce, garnish with fresh basil.

[timbotha]

hi adam, made your chicken pot pie recipe for mothers day. lets just say that im back in the will

[tvmoviemakers]

Me: I just want to make cereal

Adam Regusea: Add white wine if you have any

[danielschiffer]

This looks incredible. Slicing the lasagna cold and baking the pieces all disconnected from one another to make them all "end pieces" is absolutely genius. 100% trying this!!!

[jurisdrgirlfriend]

I love how often Adam's cooking instructions hinge on "when your anxiety of imminent burning grows too great to bear, move to the next step." It is how I've lived most of my life, frankly.

[luna_thetunatic]

Adam: This is the best thing I've ever made
Adam's children: am I a joke to you?

[ZombiesSlaier]

My man, let me tell you that, as an Italian, I'd love this lasagna. While you call it "unauthentic", it's way more authentic than those of most top chefs. The concept of lasagna is a meaty, cheesy baked pasta dish cooked slowly taking care for every single element in it, it doesn't really matter what exactly you put in, since recipes vary from town to town. Good job, that's lovely.

[aragusea]

Ragusea's First Law of YouTube Cookery: The ease of a recipe is inversely proportional to the amount of fast-motion used in the video

[adamscuttingboard]

6:50 You switched me out because of "contrast"?
I guess it's true, it's not easy being green.

[Monkeyheadtpc]

You put more work into one lasagna than I put into my entire life.

[mburger]

Matty Matheson: “Guarantied to get you laid lasagna”

Adam Ragusea: “Hold my white wine”

[tomlock]

I love this community your videos have created

[jonathanchristen]

Wife and kids: honey!!! We haven’t see you in 3 DAYS and we’ve been worried sick! Where have you been?!?!?

Adam: l a g n a s a

[anthonyannen]

This man really just dirtied up another cutting board because it lacked contrast

[ninjawithgunz]

“Way to go pal, it took us 3 days to make that lasagna.”

3 DAYS

[cdb]

I made this for my boyfriend's family, two of which are chefs and they loved it. His brother in law (a chef) said it was the best lasagna he's ever had. So it was definitely worth the work and will be a staple with us! Thanks from us here in Madrid!

[Sotari]

Adam, I made this lasagna and all I can say is, that this is definitely worth the effort... I did exchange out a few ingredients... vegetable broth for wine, sweet Italian sausage for chicken livers and parmesan for romano... turned out so awesome... whole family thoroughly enjoyed it!!! I look forward to trying more of your recipes

[jacobmartin]

2:53 “and throw them in the fridge for about a half hour”
*litteraly throws in fridge*

[marisgv]

No one:
Adam Ragusea: If you have any, add white wine.

[TheVickster]

“Hey can i have some ice?”
“Yea sure” *pulls out bolognese cubes”

[neonblack]

*shock the spinach*

*me to the spinach*:
“Ur adopted”