The 1967 Time-Life Recipe for Real Italian Lasagna

This is the magic lasagna recipe from the 1967 edition of “The Cooking of Italy”. It is the most amazing thing you will ever eat. I mean come on, chicken liver, smoked ham, ground round and ground pork?

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Ingredients

For the Ragù Bolognese:

2 cups pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 cups yellow onions, coarsely chopped
½ cup carrots, coarsely chopped
1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
8 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. olive oil
1.5-pounds round steak, ground twice
½-pound lean pork, ground twice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups beef stock
4 tbsp. tomato paste
½-pound chicken livers
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Lasagna Pasticciate:

6 to 8 quarts water
1 tbsp. salt, or to taste
½-pound lasagna

For the Besciamella (see notes):

3 tbsp. butter
6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
1 tsp. salt, or to taste

To Assemble and Serve:

Besciamella
The 2-½ cups ragù bolognese made earlier
½ cup imported Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Lasagna noodles

Instructions

To prepare the ragù bolognese:

Combine the chopped pancetta, onions, carrots and celery on a cutting board; chop them together into very small pieces. (This mixture is called a battuto, which, when cooked, becomes a soffritto.)
In a heavy 10-inch to 12-inch skillet, over moderate heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
When the foam subsides, add the battuto; cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.
With a rubber spatula, transfer the soffritto to a heavy 3-quart to 4-quart saucepan.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet and lightly brown the ground round steak and pork, over moderate heat, stirring the meat constantly to break up any lumps.
Pour in the wine, increase the heat, and boil briskly, still stirring constantly, until almost all of the liquid in the skillet has cooked away.
Add the meat to the soffritto in the saucepan and stir in the stock and tomato paste.
Bring to a boil, over high heat; reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, over high heat, melt 2 more tablespoons of butter in the original skillet; when the foam subsides, add the chicken livers; cook for 3 or 4 minutes, or until they are firm and lightly browned.
Remove the livers from the heat and chop them into small dices; set aside and add them to the sauce 10 minutes before it is done.
A few minutes before serving, stir in the cream and let it heat through.
Taste the ragù and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Serve the ragù on pasta or, without the cream, use it in lasagna pasticciate (all a mess or messed up – the idea being that the assembly of this lasagna contains a variety of ingredients and is “all messed up").

To prepare the Lasagna Pasticciate:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch by-13-inch Pyrex baking dish.
In a large soup pot or kettle, over high heat, bring the water and salt to a bubbling boil.
Add the lasagna, stirring gently for a few moments with a wooden fork to be sure the strips do not stick to one another.
Boil, stirring occasionally, until the lasagna is tender, but still al dente; the time may vary between 10 and 25 minutes.
Remove from heat and set the pot under cold running water for a few moments to cool the pasta.
Then lift out the strips and spread them side by side, on paper towels, to drain.

To prepare the besciamella:

In a heavy 2-quart to 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter, over moderate heat, and stir in the flour.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the milk and cream all at once, beating with a wire whisk until the flour is partially dissolved.
Return the pan to high heat and cook, stirring constantly with the whisk.
When the sauce comes to a boil and thickens into a smooth cream, reduce the heat and simmer, still stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and season with nutmeg and salt.

To assemble and serve:

Spread a layer of ragù bolognese about, 1/4-inch deep, evenly over the bottom of the buttered Pyrex dish.
Next, spread about 1 cup of besciamella over the layer above.
Lay one third of the lasagna on the besciamella, overlapping the strips slightly.
Repeat the layers of ragù, besciamella and lasagna two more times; top with the rest of the ragù and a masking of besciamella.
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Place in pre-heated oven and bake 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling hot.

Notes

Exclude heavy cream if making a sauce to be tossed with pasta; use only for making the lasagna.

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