The Neapolitan white lasagna is the version without the classic tomato ragù of the traditional Carnival Neapolitan lasagna.
The white lasagna is truly delicious and indulgent and has nothing to envy from the classic red Neapolitan lasagna, it is equally tasty and rich, featuring layers of egg pasta alternating with an exquisite white ragù, prepared with a sauté of vegetables and a mix of beef and pork well browned and slowly cooked for two hours (unlike the red ragù which requires at least 5-6 hours of cooking).
The filling is not muddled with béchamel – since the white ragù is already a rich sauce in itself – but is simply made with ricotta, mozzarella, sausages, and Parmesan cheese.
It’s a family recipe tested over generations, that always enjoys great success and that we often prepare at home, even on special occasions and holidays like Carnival, Christmas, Easter, dinners, and birthdays.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Carnival
Ingredients for Neapolitan White Lasagna with White Ragù
- 1.32 lbs pork loin (or pork tenderloin)
- 1.1 lbs beef eye of round (or top round, also known as 'piccione' in some regions)
- 0.66 lbs sausages (about 2)
- 1.8 oz pancetta (diced or prosciutto)
- 12.35 oz onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5.64 oz carrots
- 2.12 oz celery
- 1 bouillon cube
- 1 quart water
- 6.76 oz extra virgin olive oil (high quality, 100 ml for meat + 100 ml for sauté)
- 1.76 oz butter
- 6.76 oz dry white wine (100 ml for browning meat + 100 ml to finish cooking the meat)
- to taste black peppercorns (crushed)
- 1.06 oz potato starch (or corn starch, optional)
- 8.82 oz lasagna sheets (about 12 sheets of fresh pasta)
- 1.1 lbs cow's milk ricotta (Roman)
- 2 eggs (whole)
- 1.1 lbs mozzarella (refrigerated overnight)
- 2.82 oz grated Parmesan cheese (70 g for filling + 10 g for lasagna surface)
- 0.25 oz fine salt
- to taste black peppercorns (ground)
- 2 sausages (sliced thinly (cooked beforehand with the ragù))
Tools
- Bowl
- Mezzaluna sharp with double blade
- Cutting Board with two side trays, oven-safe
- Cast Iron Pot Le Creuset
- Hand Blender Braun, 1200 W power + electric food processor
- Lasagna Pan non-stick
Steps for Neapolitan White Lasagna with White Ragù
I should mention that you can also prepare this white ragù with: 1 kg of top round and 400 g of sausage.
It’s best to purchase the ricotta and mozzarella the day before, so they don’t release too much milk during cooking.
I used pre-cooked fresh pasta lasagna sheets, but you can also make them at home.
Chop the mix of onions, carrots, and celery with the mezzaluna (NOT with the mixer).
Set a saucepan on the stove with 1 quart of water and 1 vegetable or meat bouillon cube, to obtain a boiling broth.
Take a pot (preferably cast iron or terracotta) and pour in 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil, 50 g of butter, 1 garlic clove, pepper, and the diced pancetta, let everything flavor and then add the meat and brown it over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. Then, deglaze with 100 ml of dry white wine and continue to brown until the wine evaporates (about 5 minutes).
At this point, remove the meat from the pot and keep it warm covered.
In the same pot where you browned the meat, add another 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until the vegetables are reduced to mush, it will take 15 – 20 minutes and they should take on a golden/dark color (as shown in the photo below) if you see that the vegetables tend to burn on the bottom during cooking, you can add 1-2 ladles of boiling broth.
When the vegetables are well cooked and sautéed, put the meat back in the pot to flavor in the veggie mixture for about 5 minutes with another 100 ml of dry white wine and 30g of potato starch (optional, see Notes and Tips below) and then pour all the boiling broth over the meat, which must be covered flush, add the pepper and salt (be careful not to add too much because the bouillon cube and pancetta are salty) bring back to a boil and then cover the pot with its lid (leaving slightly ajar, to allow air circulation).
Cook the white ragù at minimum heat for about 2 hours, until all the liquid is absorbed.
At the end of 2 hours, you will have a thick and exquisite braising sauce, which you will use to dress the lasagna, I blended the sauce with an immersion blender, but it is optional
Set the meat aside again, take (only) the sausages and slice them thinly, you will need them for the lasagna filling.
With the rest of the very tender meat, you will have a tasty second course.
Pass the ricotta through a sieve (I used the convenient electric purée attachment by Braun (see Shopping Tips, at the end of the recipe) gather it in a bowl and add 2 eggs, 70 g of grated Parmesan, 7 g of salt and pepper.
Cut the mozzarella into thin slices.
Butter a rectangular lasagna pan about 12×9 inches, 2.36 inches high.
Pour a ladle of boiling sauce into the buttered pan and spread it over the entire surface, then cover the sauce with a first layer of lasagna sheets, spread a layer of ricotta and a few slices of sausage (previously cooked in the white ragù) and here and there slices of mozzarella, finally sprinkle a few tablespoons of sauce.
Make a second layer of lasagna and season it as the previous one.
The last layer (I made 4 layers) should only be lasagna sheets, sprinkle the lasagna with 10 g of grated Parmesan and on the Parmesan arrange very thin slices of mozzarella over the entire surface and finally, spread the remaining braising sauce over all the mozzarella slices.
Place the pan in a preheated static oven at 338°F for about 40 minutes, it should stew slowly not to color the surface too much and cook well inside.
Once cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes and Tips
The best method to prepare a white ragù (or braising sauce) is the one used in this recipe, DO NOT brown meat and herbs together, BUT first brown the meat to seal the juices and keep it tender, then let the vegetables wilt separately and after that, reunite meat and vegetables for slow cooking in the chosen liquid (in this case boiling broth).
To obtain an even creamier white ragù – before adding all the broth – you can pour into the sauce: about 30 g of corn or potato starch.
Shopping Tips!!!
To chop the vegetable mix I used this convenient cutting board with side trays (one for the sliced food, the other for scraps) and this very sharp double-bladed mezzaluna.
Perfect for long cooking, the Le Creuset cast iron pot, prevents food from sticking to the bottom of the pot, but if you’re looking for a more economical valid cast iron pot I recommend this ultra-resistant cast iron cocotte.
I passed the ricotta in a few minutes with the practical Braun electric food mill.
Perfect for cooking lasagna, this non-stick lasagna pan and scratch-proof.
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You can find all the recommended items above on Amazon at a great price, just click the respective links above.
FAQ
What is white ragù (or braising sauce)?
Braising is a technique used to prepare many dishes in traditional Italian gastronomy, a type of cooking that is long and delicate.
Braising is a cooking method where the food is immersed in a flavored liquid.
It is a mixed procedure that combines two techniques: roasting and boiling. Basically, you brown the food (meat, fish, vegetables) over high heat in a fat (butter or oil) and then cover it with a liquid and cook it slowly in the oven or in a pot.
With the braising technique, you can achieve a delicious white ragù, which, when it comes to meat, is particularly suitable for cuts rich in connective tissue that needs to be softened and melted, such as the chuck, brisket, shank, eye of round, or chest. Braising the meat allows the collagen holding the fibers to dissolve while preventing the meat from becoming too tough without losing too many juices. Thus, we obtain tender and flavorful meat, thanks also to the addition of wine and broth.
Specifically, for meat in braising, the cooking temperature must be above 167°F to melt the collagen but below 185°F, to avoid rapid cooking and excessive dryness.
