Extra Virgin (11 page)
Authors: Gabriele Corcos
LASAGNE ALLA BOLOGNESE
SERVES 8
D:
In the Italian-American New York of my youth, lasagne was layer after heavy layer of sauce, meat, pasta, and cheeses, and treasured all the more because of that. The Bolognese version Gabriele and I love has plenty of meat, but calls for less cheese, and makes use of the creamy white sauce known as besciamella. This lasagne is so flavorful, light, and balanced that it can be its own entree, yet it won’t cast a shadow over anything else in a multi-course menu, either. Seconds are a given!
Butter, for greasing the baking dish
3 cups
Bolognese
1½ (9-ounce) boxes no-boil lasagna noodles
3 cups
Besciamella
¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
Extra virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with butter. Spread a thin layer of the Bolognese (about ½ cup) over the bottom of the dish. Add the first layer of lasagne noodles to cover the meat sauce, being sure not to overlap the noodles. (Because you’re working with no-boil noodles, each noodle piece should be covered with sauce, or else it won’t cook!)
Add a layer of besciamella (a scant ¾ cup), then a generous sprinkle of Parmesan. Repeat the layering—Bolognese (about ¾ cup), noodles, besciamella, Parmesan—until you reach the top of the dish. The top layer should be a final thin spread of Bolognese and besciamella together. Finish with Parmesan.
Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. For a nice crisp top, turn on the broiler and bake for another 5 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Keep extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan handy for a final garnish before serving.
BOLOGNESE
MAKES 6 CUPS
(ENOUGH FOR TWO 9 × 13-INCH PANS OF LASAGNE)
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
5 ounces pancetta, cut into small cubes
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 cup red wine
3 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (pelati), puréed in a blender
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
In a 6- to 8-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and pancetta and sauté for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the pancetta looks crisp and the vegetables have softened.
Add the beef, pork, and veal, increase the heat to high, and stir frequently, breaking up the meat until it is browned. Add the red pepper flakes and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the alcohol is completely evaporated.
Add the puréed tomatoes, season generously with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2 hours 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the milk, stir well, remove from the heat, and set aside to cool before using in the lasagne.
IMPORTANTE!
Keep in mind that the Bolognese recipe on its own makes for a fantastic meat sauce to accompany any dried pasta—just leave out the whole milk!
BESCIAMELLA
MAKES 3 CUPS
2¼ cups whole milk
4 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a small saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the flour.
Add the warm milk to the butter-flour mixture and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes until it thickens. Season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Taste to ensure the flour flavor has gone. If you still taste the flour, cook a few minutes more.
IMPORTANTE!
For a thicker besciamella, add ½ tablespoon butter and ½ tablespoon flour and cook for a few more minutes over medium-low, stirring constantly. To thin a sauce, add 1 tablespoon milk (or 2, if needed) instead.
PESTO LASAGNE
LASAGNE AL PESTO
SERVES 8
G:
If you think lasagne is a meat-and-tomato-sauce-only dish, think again. This staple of my youth is elegant, mouthwatering, and can easily be part of a multi-course meal without filling you up. Just remember that with no-boil lasagne noodles, they won’t cook properly unless each “sheet” is completely covered in sauce.
Butter, for greasing the pan
3 cups
Besciamella
1½ (9-ounce) boxes of no-boil lasagna noodles
Pesto
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Butter a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. Spread a thin layer of the besciamella (about ½ cup) over the bottom of the dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne noodles, then another layer of besciamella. Gently spread 4 tablespoons of pesto across the surface, followed by 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Repeat until you reach the top, which should be a final layer of noodles and an uppermost layer of besciamella, topped with pesto and Parmesan.
Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. For a nice crisp coating, turn on the broiler and bake for another 5 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Keep extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan handy for a final garnish before serving.
IMPORTANTE!
On its own, pesto can oxidize and turn dark, but in a lasagne, the besciamella protects the basil, so you can keep this lasagne in the fridge for a few days and it won’t turn dark. It can also be frozen after baking.
BUCATINI ALL’AMATRICIANA
SERVES 4–6
This warming, subtly piquant pasta from the village of Amatrice is a direct evolution of the
Gricia
in that you’re essentially just adding tomatoes to make this classic. You can give this dish a more summery feel by using heirloom cherry tomatoes cut into quarters rather than puréed canned tomatoes, but remember it should still be served hot, never cold or at room temperature.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
¼ pound guanciale or pancetta, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes (pelati), puréed in a blender
6 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 pound bucatini or thick spaghetti
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged Pecorino cheese, for serving
In an 8- to 12-quart pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a rolling boil.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the guanciale and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the puréed tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir well. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the sauce darkens and thickens.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and use a wooden fork to stir the pasta so it won’t stick together. Cook until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Increase the heat to high and toss the pasta with the sauce for 1 minute, to make sure the sauce is evenly distributed.
Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
PASTA ALLA GRICIA
SERVES 4
G:
History tells us that Grisciano shepherds would cook this dish as they traveled from the mountains of Central Italy to Rome to sell their cheese and pigs. With the cured pig jowl known as guanciale hanging from their belts, they’d stop to feed themselves by slicing off bits of the guanciale and making this powerful traditional recipe. In certain ways it is the mother of two very famous meat-essential pasta sauces, the
Amatriciana
and the
Carbonara
, and though you can be forgiven for substituting pancetta (which comes from pork belly), guanciale is the way to go. It’s that much more delicious. Why else would those shepherds keep it with them at all times? I also added sage leaves to the recipe, since I think that surely a shepherd camping by a river would forage for some wild herbs to cook with it. (Well, at least I would!)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
½ pound guanciale, cut into ¹⁄³-inch-thick strips 2 inches long
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
5 fresh sage leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound pasta, such as penne or spaghetti
¾ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the guanciale and cook for about 10 minutes, making sure the meat does not get too crunchy.
Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, until both the guanciale and garlic are a golden brown. (If you see the garlic browning too fast, you can always remove it from the pan and add it back in later.) Add the sage, cook for 2 minutes, and remove the sauce from the heat.