Original Neapolitan Lasagna
The real Neapolitan lasagna is a rich and sumptuous dish that is prepared on festive occasions such as Christmas, but primarily during Carnival it is traditional to prepare it on Shrove Tuesday (symbolizing the period of prosperity just before the fasting and penitence typical of Lent) at Easter, also on Father’s Day.
If you are looking for the recipe for real Carnival lasagna, this one is unmissable!
In any case, in Naples, lasagna is always the typical Sunday family dish, and it is prepared throughout the year.
It is a guaranteed success that everyone loves, adults and children alike, this recipe I offer you is my grandmother’s recipe, which I have guarded jealously for years.
The preparation of original Neapolitan lasagna may seem laborious, but I assure you that it just requires organizing, without stress and for its deliciousness, the lasagna with true Neapolitan ragù is worth all the time spent preparing it: assuming that it can be prepared the day before and cooked the next day, in any case, it is possible to divide the various preparations into stages for example, the meatballs can be fried the day before, as well as the ragù can be prepared beforehand, and I strongly recommend it both for practicality and because “rested” it is even tastier!
The ingredients that must never be missing in true Neapolitan lasagna are: dry semolina lasagna (preferably the curly ones), ragù with pork meat, ricotta, tiny fried meatballs, salami (or, alternatively, Lucanian dry sausages or the ragù sausages), hard-boiled eggs, smoked provola cheese, caciocavallo and grated parmesan.
That said, you can also skip meatballs and hard-boiled eggs, if you don’t like them.
In truth, Jeanne Caròla Francesconi (the bible of Neapolitan cuisine) writes about Neapolitan lasagna that the traditional version is composed of: dark ragù, meatballs, ricotta, lasagna, sausages cut into slices (browned separately with oil and lard and then poured into the ragù with their sauce) and fiordilatte (or mozzarella) and specifies that lasagna with salami (or dry sausages) instead of fresh sausages and hard-boiled eggs is a variant from Pozzuoli (a town a few kilometers from Naples).
Note well: the true Ragù for authentic Neapolitan lasagna, must be dark and reduced (like the one in the photos below) not red, otherwise it’s just meat with tomato!
If you love Neapolitan cuisine, click on my Special: “DOC Neapolitan Cuisine“.
If you are looking for more Carnival recipes (sweet or savory) click on my: “Carnival Special“.
You might also be interested in:
- The real Neapolitan Ragù, explained step by step
- White Neapolitan Lasagna with white ragù (without béchamel)
- Bolognese Ragù explained step by step. Original infallible recipe
- Easy Artichoke Lasagna with provola emmenthal and cooked ham.
- Pistachio Lasagna with mortadella and provola. Easy step by step recipe.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 8 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Day
- Portions: 10 people
- Cooking methods: Oven, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: All seasons, Carnival
Ingredients for Original Neapolitan Lasagna
- 2.2 lbs curly lasagne (made from durum wheat, I use Garofalo)
- 1.3 lbs ricotta (Roman)
- 10.5 oz smoked provola cheese (well drained, diced or well-drained fiordilatte at least one day)
- 10.5 oz caciocavallo cheese (preferably Silano, diced or scamorza)
- 5.3 oz Neapolitan salami (in strips, or spicy Lucanian dry sausages)
- 3 hard-boiled eggs (sliced, optional)
- as needed Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (for garnish)
- as needed butter (for the surface)
- 1.3 lbs blonde onions
- 1.8 lbs beef rump (in pieces)
- 1.3 lbs pork ribs ((country-style ribs))
- 1.1 lbs pork sausages (or sausages, optional)
- 10.5 oz pork thigh ((small knuckle))
- 3.5 oz pancetta (slab)
- 5.3 oz lard
- 5.3 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 1.3 cups red wine (possibly Gragnano, Aglianico)
- 4 packages tomato sauce (San Marzano, I use 4 Cirio Veraci sauces of 700 g)
- 7 oz tomato paste (better double or triple, I use Mutti or La Reale)
- Half tablespoon sugar (to reduce tomato acidity)
- as needed black peppercorns (ground)
- as needed fine salt
- as needed chili pepper (my personal variant, optional)
- as needed basil (optional)
- 10.5 oz mixed minced pork and veal (100 g pork and 200 g lean veal)
- 1 egg (whole)
- 3.5 oz bread crumbs (preferably use wood-fired bread, hardened for at least one day)
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- as needed fine salt
- 2 cups peanut oil (for frying)
Tools for Original Neapolitan Lasagna
- Bowls of various sizes
- Cutting board with two side trays incorporated for scraps
- Mezzaluna sharp, with double blade
- Fryer electric with timer and basket
- High-sided casserole cast iron, Le Creuset
- Lasagna pan
Steps for Original Neapolitan Lasagna
Quickly soak the bread crumbs (at least one day old) covered with water and in another container put the mixed minced meat, the egg, a pinch of salt, a grating of parmesan.
When the bread is soaked (it should not be mushy), squeeze it well and form the mixture in a bowl.
Then, make the tiny meatballs (like a chickpea) and fry them in deep hot oil at 338°F for about 1 minute (the cooking must be very short, because they finish cooking in the oven).
Place the meatballs, as they are fried, in a bowl with absorbent paper, set them aside and let cool.
The true Neapolitan Ragù must be dark and reduced like the one in the photo below (otherwise it’s just meat with tomato).
Prepare the Ragù following my infallible recipe (one of the most searched on my Blog), you will find the entire procedure explained, step by step, by clicking here on the link: “The real Neapolitan Ragù“. I strongly recommend preparing it at least one day before.
Once the ragù is cooked, remove the meat (which will be delicious as a second course and so tender you can cut it with a breadstick, you can also freeze it) and collect the sauce in a suitable pot to reheat it.
Take a saucepan, fill it with cold water and add the 3 eggs, place the saucepan on the fire, bring to a boil and cook the eggs for 10 minutes from the boil.
Then cut them gently into thin regular slices (you can also crumble them).The provola (and any fiordilatte) should be bought the day before and left to drain.
Dice the cheeses: smoked provola and caciocavallo (or fiordilatte).
Cut the Neapolitan salami into strips (not diced).
Take a bowl, add the ricotta, a pinch of salt, and a ladle of boiling ragù.
Mix well and add 1-2 more ladles of boiling ragù (the rest of the ragù will be used to compose the lasagna layers) and work these two ingredients until you get a smooth cream.
Take a rectangular pan (at least 12×9 inches, 2 inches high, I like lasagna tall, with at least 3-4 layers).
Add 1 ladle of BOILING ragù to the pan and spread it well to abundantly cover the entire bottom.Form a first layer of raw lasagna sheets, I put them raw, with the trick of BOILING ragù which is used to give a sort of precooking to the pasta (but if you prefer you can blanch them quickly and place them cooked on a clean cloth).
Cover the raw pasta with boiling ragù and spread it well with the ricotta mixture, sprinkle the ricotta with some of the meatballs, well-drained smoked provola, caciocavallo (or well-drained fiordilatte) hard-boiled egg slices, salami strips (or Lucanian dry sausages in thin slices or even sausages in thin slices) finish this first layer, sprinkling everything with grated parmesan and a ladle of ragù.
Start again with another layer of lasagna and proceed with the same sequence, forming at least 3 layers of lasagna, finally covering the last layer of pasta with abundant ragù, sprinkled with grated parmesan and butter flakes.
I recommend wearing disposable gloves and slightly compressing the various layers directly with your hands.
In this way, you can compact the pasta layers well and obtain regular slices when cut at the end of cooking.
Cook the lasagna in a preheated hot oven at 320°F for about 40 minutes (the first 20 minutes cover it with aluminum foil) then uncover it.
Lasagna must cook slowly, at medium heat, to cook well inside and not darken too much on the surface.
After the indicated time, remove the Original Neapolitan Lasagna from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes before slicing it!
Lasagna is even better if you cook it the day before and the next day warm it covered with a sheet of aluminum foil for 10 minutes in the oven at 392°F.
Lasagna can be kept in the fridge for about 2 days, either cooked or raw.
You can also freeze it (but already cooked) and then defrost at room temperature and reheat in the oven covered with aluminum at 392°F for about 15 minutes.
Shopping Tips!!!
To cook the ragù, I used this high-sided oval cast iron casserole by Le Creuset is perfect for slow cooking, like ragù, genovese, delicious and super tender roasts, it spreads the heat evenly and retains it for a long time, ensuring excellent results. Or, a valid economic alternative is this excellent non-stick cast iron casserole which also (like Le Creuset) offers an exceptional distribution of heat, ideal for slow cooking such as stews, braises, and soups
For a perfectly cooked, even frying I bought the Cecotec fryer equipped with a timer and a glass lid that prevents splashes, smoke and bad odors with a removable external container, which makes cleaning easier.
Alternatively, for a great fry this frying pan with basket included is also very practical.
To check the frying temperature of the meatballs, I used this practical food thermometer, equipped with a useful clip to easily attach the thermometer to the edge of the pot or pan, allowing you to keep your hands free during preparations (also useful for desserts, creams, caramel, etc.).
Great for cooking lasagna, this non-stick and scratch-resistant lasagna pan.
You can buy all the items I recommend above on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the related links.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What are the origins and history of Neapolitan lasagna?
The history of this dish is very ancient and therefore difficult to reconstruct, it was already possible to read about it at the end of the thirteenth century, in the first treatise of Neapolitan gastronomic culture, written in vulgar Latin by an anonymous Neapolitan at the Angevin court. The text was called Liber de coquina and the recipe was under the heading “De Lasanis”. Thus, at the Angevin court of Naples, the Roman-style sheet was cut into square shapes to boil in water, layered alternately and seasoned with plenty of cheese powder and, if desired, various spices.
Over time, tastes and ingredients changed, especially with the massive introduction of tomato into Neapolitan cuisine at the beginning of the nineteenth century, during the period of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in fact, cooks at the court of King Ferdinand II were used to preparing very rich and laborious dishes, and they created lasagna by inserting, between various pasta sheets, many ingredients including meat, eggs, sauce, and cheese.
Legend has it that Ferdinand II loved to enjoy this rich first course so much that he was nicknamed “King Lasagna”.
To delve into the history and origins of true Neapolitan lasagna, read also here: “History of Lasagne, from Naples to Bologna” a very interesting article by Angelo Forgione.When is Carnival lasagna eaten?
Throughout the Carnival period, particularly: on Fat Tuesday or Fat Thursday.
