Lasagne are, well, lasagna, one of Italy's signature dishes, and as such subject to innumerable variations. Tordelli are instead meat-filled pasta typical of the Garfagnana region, the mountains north of Lucca and east of Massa. And Lasagne Tordellati are a specialty of Massa that draws upon tordelli for inspiration.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) fresh lasagna sheets, cut into postcard-sized rectangles
- 2/3 pound (300 g) not too lean ground beef
- 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) canned tomatoes, crushed
- A carrot, peeled and minced
- A medium onion, peeled and minced
- An 8-inch (20 cm) celery stalk, minced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A glass of dry white wine
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a pot, and sauté the chopped carrot, onion, celery, and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the meat and continue cooking, stirring the contents of the pot about to brown the meat evenly.
Add the wine, and continue to cook, stirring, until the wine has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, check seasoning, cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for an hour.
While the sauce is cooking, set pasta water to boil and salt it. Also, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C). When the sauce is done, cook the pasta, a few sheets at a time, removing them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and putting them in an oven dish of a size proportionate to the ingredients.
Spoon a layer of sauce over each layer of pasta, and continue until all is used up. Heat the lasagna through in the oven, and serve with a red wine, for example a Rosso delle Colline Lucchesi.
Note: This sauce will also be good with potato gnocchi, especially if you steep 20 g (a packed half cup) of dried porcini in warm water, chop them, and add them to the sauce, together with the water they soaked in (strain it first, to remove sand). Serve the gnocchi with freshly grated Parmigiano, for those who want it.
Add the wine, and continue to cook, stirring, until the wine has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, check seasoning, cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for an hour.
While the sauce is cooking, set pasta water to boil and salt it. Also, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C). When the sauce is done, cook the pasta, a few sheets at a time, removing them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and putting them in an oven dish of a size proportionate to the ingredients.
Spoon a layer of sauce over each layer of pasta, and continue until all is used up. Heat the lasagna through in the oven, and serve with a red wine, for example a Rosso delle Colline Lucchesi.
Note: This sauce will also be good with potato gnocchi, especially if you steep 20 g (a packed half cup) of dried porcini in warm water, chop them, and add them to the sauce, together with the water they soaked in (strain it first, to remove sand). Serve the gnocchi with freshly grated Parmigiano, for those who want it.
