Why Restaurant Lasagna Tastes So Much Better

Why Restaurant Lasagna Tastes So Much Better

Lasagna has endless versions, but if you want lasagna that’s rich, structured, and slices clean, this is the chef’s way: deeper flavour, lighter layers, and a crispy top that makes the whole dish.
In this video, we make a homemade lasagna recipe inspired by Massimo Bottura and his love of “the crispy part of lasagna”. We build a slow-cooked meat ragù using ox cheek, short rib, pancetta, and sausage, start with a proper sofrito (plus optional bone marrow for depth), and use a better tomato method, roast, then pulse, for a cleaner, sweeter sauce that won’t turn watery.
For the layers, we go Northern-Italy style with spinach (green) pasta sheets and a classic béchamel (white sauce) finished with parmesan and nutmeg. We bake it low and slow for structure, then finish under the grill for that golden, caramelised, crispy lasagna top.

INGREDIENTS
50g Bone Marrow
2 Onion
2 Carrot
2 Celery Stalks
200g Pancetta
300g Sausage Meat
600g Short Rib
600g Beef Cheek
200g Cherry Tomatoes
200g White Wine
1L Chicken Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1 Sprig Rosemary
Left over Parmesan rind

Gastrique
50g Red Wine Vinegar
50g sugar

Pasta
2 eggs
6 yolks
400g pasta flour
200g spinach
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Bechamel
1.2L Milk
Bay Leaf
A few sprigs of Thyme
Black peppercorns
120g butter
120g plain flour
150g Parmesan (+ 30g for topping)
Nutmeg

RECIPE
1. Finely dice onion, celery and peeled carrot.
2. Melt bone marrow in a deep casserole on medium-low. Add veg and sweat until onion is translucent. Remove and set aside.
3. Halve cherry tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, roast at 180C for ~15 mins until blistered, then blitz smooth.
4. Trim excess fat from short ribs. Cut ribs and beef cheeks into medium chunks.
5. Add a little oil and brown rib and cheek on medium-high until deep golden on all sides. Remove and set aside.
6. Slice pancetta and fry with sausage meat, breaking it up, until golden.
7. Drain on paper towel. Pour off any excess fat from the pan.
8. Return pan to high heat and deglaze with white wine, reducing until almost dry
9. Return vegetables and meat to the pan. Stir through the tomato sauce. Add rosemary, bay leaf, parmesan rind and chicken stock.
10. Bring to a simmer, cover with a cartouche and lid, and braise at 140C for ~2 hours until the meat starts to pull apart.

PASTA
1. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 1 minute and refresh in ice water.
2. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then blitz with the egg yolks until smooth. Pass through a sieve.
3. Mix whole eggs and olive oil into the spinach mixture, then gradually add flour until a dough forms.
4. Knead until firm. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.
5. Divide into 4 and roll into rectangles about as thick as a 5p piece, dusting as needed or using a pasta machine.
6. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Trim sheets to fit your lasagne dish, blanch each sheet for 1 minute, transfer to ice water, then drain and pat dry.

BECHAMEL
1. Bring milk, bay leaf, thyme and black peppercorns to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.
2. In a separate pan, melt butter on medium heat, add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously, until it smells biscuity.
3. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the infused milk.
4. Return to the heat and whisk for a few minutes until thickened.
5. When you see volcanic bubbles, remove from the heat and whisk in parmesan. Season with salt and nutmeg and set aside.

RAGU CONTINUED
1. Spoon off any fat that’s risen to the top.
2. If there’s excess liquid, strain into a clean pan and reduce on high until it coats the back of a spoon.
3. Pull the meat apart so you have a mix of shredded and small chunks.
4. Mix the ragu with the reduced liquid and season with salt and black pepper.
5. To make the gastrique, simmer vinegar and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
6. Finish the ragu with gastrique to taste.

ASSEMBLY
1. Set the oven to 140C Fan.
2. Spread a thin layer of bechamel on the bottom of a casserole dish, then add a layer of ragu.
3. Add a single layer of pasta, cover with a thin layer of bechamel, then spread another layer of ragu on top.
4. Repeat until you’ve used everything up, finishing with pasta topped with a very thin layer of bechamel.
5. Top with grated parmesan and bake for ~30 mins or until the edges bubble.
6. Finish by turning the oven up to 200C for the last few minutes, or flash under a hot grill for a crispy top.

Chapters;
00:00 – Intro
00:30 – Soffrito
2:11 – Secret Ingredient
2:33 – Cooking the soffrito
3:25 – Tomatoes
4:21 – Preparing the Meat
5:58 – Browning the meat
7:16 – Tomato sauce
8:08 – Browning sausage and panchetta
8:24 – Deglazing
8:43 – Assembling the Ragu
10:41 – Pasta Dough
12:11 – Bechamel
13:42 – Rolling Pasta
14:27 – Finishing the Ragu
15:46 – Buling the Lasagne
17:32 – Baking The Lasagne
17:54 – Making it Crispy
18:42 – Tasting