Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines. Well, let’s be honest…I have a lot of favorite cuisines: Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, American Southern. Trying to watch my carbs, so pasta has not really been at the top of my list, but I do have cravings, and lasagna is a favorite craving. When I am checking out a new Italian restaurant, my typical order would be to try their lasagna. My thoughts are that if the lasagna is good, the rest of their menu is good too!
The perfect lasagna for me has to include a great béchamel. The question I had was how to make a recipe that would satisfy my craving and not be as heavy as a lasagna. I always enjoyed baked ziti (which can also be heavy depending on the ingredients), so I thought I would combine the best of lasagna and baked ziti.
And by the way…if you want a great lasagna, check out my recipe for a 10-layer lasagna here
The Main Ingredients
My two issues were 1) to create a great ragú and 2) to make the perfect béchamel. Beef and Italian sausage became the stars of my ragu with San Marzano Tomatoes (can be found at most grocery stores) as the base. This recipe would not be considered a traditional ragú. A traditional recipe could easily have you cooking all day long. Since we are using ground meat there is no reason to cook that long. I have taken some shortcuts, which means you don’t need to have your ragú cooking all day.
As with many Italian baked dishes, I used plenty of shredded mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.
Type of Pasta
Another question was which pasta should I use? I took the easy way by searching my pantry and discovered some Campanelle pasta. I cannot tell you where I purchased it, but it seemed perfect for the dish. I also tried experimenting with orzo pasta. The dish still tasted great! The simple answer for which pasta to use is any small pasta with ridges that will hold onto your Ragú. Or, take the easy way like me and use any small pasta found in your pantry!
You can find more of my Italian dishes by searching my food blog. Another one of my favorite dishes is my Gundi Recipe. Check out my recipe here!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Please leave some comments in the form below. As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!
A Great Ragú with Béchamel
6
servings30
minutes45
minutes180
minutes15
MinutesIngredients
- Make the Ragú
1 Lb Italian sausage
1 Lb Ground beef
2 Carrots, small dice
1 Medium Onion, small dice
5 Cloves Garlic, small mince
2 Tbl Tomato paste
1 Cup Dry white wine (red wine is ok too)
28 oz Can of San Marzano Tomatoes, crushed
16 oz Vegetable broth – low/no sodium
- Make the Béchamel
4 Cups Whole milk
2 tsp Onion powder
1 Bay leaf
1/4 tsp Ground clove powder
Pinch Ground nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
Roux
- Roux Recipe
4 Tbl All Purpose Flour
4 Tbl Butter
- Finishing Ingredients
8 oz Campanelle pasta (or your favorite small pasta)
2 Cups Shredded mozzarella
1 Cup Shredded Parmigiana-Reggiano
Béchamel sauce
Optional: Thin slices of basil to garnish
Directions
- Make the Ragú
- Add meat to a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Gently cook over medium heat until lightly browned.
- Add small diced carrots and onion to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Move veggies to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Stir the paste and cook until fragrant. Stir carrots, onion, garlic, and tomato paste until well combined.
- Add wine to the saucepan. Stir well with a wooden spatula to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the broth and the San Marzano tomatoes to the large saucepan. Mix all the ingredients until well combined
- Let the sauce gently simmer for approximately 2 to 3 hours. Set aside when the sauce has reached the desired texture. You do not want your sauce to be dry. It will thicken when you add the pasta and cheese.
- Roux Recipe
- Melt butter completely. Add flour and whisk over low heat for 2-4 minutes until completely combined for a white roux.
- Pull off the heat and cool. Set aside for use.
- Make the Béchamel
- Slowly whisk milk into your roux over low heat.
- Slowly bring the sauce to a boil over high heat to thicken. Drop the heat back down to low.
- Add all the spices and whisk until combined. Taste the béchamel. Add additional spices, salt, and pepper if needed.
- Dip a spoon into the béchamel, and if you can run a finger through the sauce from the back of the spoon, then your béchamel is done. Strain the sauce through a strainer if desired or needed. If too thick, add a little more milk. Set aside until needed.
- Finishing the Dish
- Preheat oven to 375°. Shred cheeses and set aside.
- Add salted water to your pasta pot. Place over high heat to boil. Add pasta and cook until “al dente” (still has a little bite to it)
- Strain the pasta. Retain some of the starchy pasta water to add to the ragú if necessary.
- Add the ragú to a baking pan. Add the pasta to the pan with the ragú. Toss well. If your ragú is too thick, add some of the pasta water to loosen it up. Stir well.
- Add cheeses to the ragú/pasta mixture.
- Top off your dish with béchamel and cook until the cheeses have melted and the dish has a nice golden color. Approximately 20 minutes
- Serve and enjoy! Optional: Top off your serving with thin slices of fresh basil. (Stack and tightly roll basil leaves and thinly slice – Chiffonade cut)
Did you make this recipe?
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