Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese

Ingredients

• 400g coarsely minced beef
• 150g fresh pork pancetta, finely chopped
• 60g onion
• 60g carrot
• 60g celery
• 150ml dry white wine
• 200g tomato passata
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 200ml whole milk
• 500ml light stock
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 250g fresh spinach
• 300g plain 00 flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 litre whole milk, for the béchamel
• 100g butter, plus extra for the dish
• 100g plain flour, for the béchamel
• Grated nutmeg, to taste
• 150g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Before you cook

• Chop the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta very finely by hand
• Wash the spinach thoroughly and discard any tough stalks
• Butter a shallow baking dish of about 30cm by 20cm
• Set a wide bowl of iced water beside the hob for cooling the pasta sheets

Steps

1. Cook the pancetta in the olive oil over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until the fat runs.
2. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and soften them for 10 minutes without letting them colour.
3. Add the minced beef, break it up and cook it for 10 minutes until it sizzles rather than steams.
4. Pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely.
5. Stir in the tomato purée, then the passata and a ladle of stock.
6. Simmer the ragù with the lid ajar for 2 hours, adding stock as it dries and stirring in the milk halfway through.
7. Wilt the spinach in a covered pan with only the water clinging to the leaves, about 3 minutes.
8. Drain the spinach, cool it under cold water and squeeze it bone dry in a tea towel.
9. Chop the squeezed spinach as finely as you can, almost to a paste.
10. Mound the flour on a board, make a well and add the eggs and the chopped spinach.
11. Work everything into a firm green dough, then knead it for 10 minutes until smooth.
12. Wrap the dough and rest it for 30 minutes.
13. Roll the dough very thin and cut it into rectangles that fit your dish.
14. Bring a wide pan of salted water to a gentle boil.
15. Blanch the pasta sheets two or three at a time for 30 seconds each.
16. Lift each sheet into the iced water, then lay it flat on a damp tea towel to drain.
17. Melt the butter for the béchamel in a heavy pan over medium heat.
18. Whisk in the flour and cook the paste for 2 minutes until it smells biscuity.
19. Pour in the milk gradually, whisking hard after each addition to keep it lump-free.
20. Cook the béchamel for 8 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon, then season with salt and nutmeg.
21. Heat the oven to 180C.
22. Spread two ladles of ragù thinly over the base of the buttered dish.
23. Lay down a layer of pasta sheets, overlapping them only slightly.
24. Spread over ragù, then béchamel, then a scattering of Parmigiano.
25. Repeat the layers until you have five or six thin layers, finishing with béchamel and a generous dusting of cheese.
26. Dot the top with a little butter.
27. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the surface is blistered and dark gold at the corners.
28. Rest the lasagne for 15 minutes before cutting so the layers hold together.