Christmas Favorites

Christmas Lasagna

This lasagna has become a Christmas day tradition for Rusty and me. This recipe is a little different as it uses a bechamel sauce instead of ricotta cheese. I make sure to use plenty of the sauces.....we love sauce!


Ingredients:
10-12 lasagna noodles
Kosher salt 
Ragu, recipe follows 
Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows 
3 cups freshly grated Parmesan  


Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until just tender, drain and refresh in ice water.
2.  Put a thin layer of bechamel in the bottom of a shallow baking dish or a jelly-roll pan. Cover the bechamel with a thin layer of ragu and a little cheese. Top the sauces and cheese with a layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat until all noodles are gone ending with a layer of bechamel, ragu and cheese.
3.  Bake the lasagna until it is warm at the center and the cheese topping golden brown, about 45 minutes (cover with some aluminum foil if the lasagna browns before it is fully heated).

Ragu:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped 
1 large carrot, finely chopped 
3 ribs celery, finely chopped 
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 (28 ounce) cans tomato puree
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 

1.  Heat olive oil over medium in a large skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
2.  Add beef and brown, breaking up any big chunks of meat.
3.  Add wine, increase the heat and simmer until the pan is once again dry, about 10 minutes.
4.  Add the tomatoes and enough water to cover. Bring the sauce to a simmer then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is deeply flavored and no longer watery, about 4 hours.
5.  Season the ragu with salt and pepper to taste.

Bechamel Sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
Freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
Kosher salt 

1.  In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until the mixture is creamy and no longer smells floury. Set the flour mixture (a roux) aside and rinse the pan.
2.  Place the milk in the saucepan, add the grated nutmeg and bring to boil over medium-high.
3.  Whisk the flour mixture into the milk. Whisk constantly as the sauce returns to a boil and simmer until the sauce thickens sufficiently to coat the back of a spoon.
4.  Season the bechamel with salt and reserve it until ready to use.