It smells like a celebration, home, noisy Sundays, and long tables.
The Carnival Neapolitan lasagna is not just a rich first course: it’s a ritual.
Generous layers of curly pasta, slowly cooked Neapolitan ragù for hours, golden meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, melting fiordilatte, and a ricotta cream that replaces the béchamel and makes everything more enveloping. Each forkful is an explosion of intense and authentic flavors.
Born between the 1600s and 1700s in the Kingdom of Naples, this lasagna has become the symbol of Fat Thursday and Mardi Gras. Today it continues to be a protagonist at Italian tables when a true celebration is desired.
If you’re looking for the traditional Neapolitan lasagna recipe, the one that is rich, opulent, and faithful to history, you’re in the right place.
Also discover:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 8People
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: Carnival, All seasons
Ingredients for preparing Neapolitan Lasagna
- 10 1/2 oz lasagna sheets (curly)
- 14 oz ricotta
- 14 oz fiordilatte
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 oz beef (muscle)
- 2 pork ribs
- 2 sausages
- 2 quarts tomato sauce
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup red wine
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- 14 oz ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 1/2 oz stale bread
- peanut oil (for frying)
- salt
- pepper
Tools for preparing Neapolitan Lasagna
- Pot
- Pan
- Bowl
- Ladle
- Baking Dish
- Paper Towels
- Aluminum Foil
How to prepare Neapolitan Lasagna
In a large pot, pour the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the chopped onion. Add the beef muscle, ribs, and sausages. Brown well on all sides.
Deglaze with red wine and let it evaporate. Add the tomato sauce, salt, and cook covered over low heat for a minimum of 2 hours up to a maximum of 6 hours.
👉 If you want to speed up, you can make a faster ragù with ground meat.In a bowl, mix ground meat, soaked and squeezed bread crumbs, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper. Form many small meatballs.
Fry them in plenty of hot peanut oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.Boil the eggs for 7 minutes from boiling, cool them, and cut into cubes.
Dice the fiordilatte and let it drain.
Remove the meat from the ragù.
Mix a ladle of sauce with the well-drained ricotta until you get a smooth cream.Distribute 1-2 ladles of ragù on the bottom of the baking dish.
Create a layer of curly lasagna sheets.
Add ragù, ricotta cream, hard-boiled eggs, meatballs, fiordilatte, and Parmesan.
Repeat the layers.
Finish with pasta, fiordilatte, and plenty of Parmesan.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 30 minutes.
Remove the aluminum and continue baking for another 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting.
It is a rich and complete dish, perfect as a unique course on special occasions.
Storage
In the refrigerator for 2-3 days, well covered.
It can be frozen both raw and cooked.
It’s even better the next day.
Tips
The secret is the long cooking of the ragù. Do not rush.
Cut the fiordilatte in advance to remove excess water.
Prepare the ragù the day before: it will be even more flavorful.
Variants
With smoked provola for a more intense flavor.
With Neapolitan salami in cubes.
Faster version with ground meat ragù.
Lighter version with baked meatballs.
Nutritional Information (per serving – 1/8 of the tray)
Indicative values:
Calories: about 750-850 kcal
Proteins: 45-50 g
Carbohydrates: 60-70 g
Fats: 40-45 g
Saturated fats: 18-22 g
Fibers: 3-4 g
Sodium: medium-high
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I prepare it in advance?
Yes, even the day before. Just heat it before serving.
Can I use béchamel?
The traditional version doesn’t use it: the creaminess comes from the ricotta.
Can I use smooth sheets?
Yes, although curly ones hold the sauce better.
