Lasagna with French Bolognese

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 500 g tomatoes, pureed
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 kg minced meat, mixed
• 500 g celery
• 500 g carrot(s)
• 500 g onion(s)
• 300 ml red wine, dry
• 4 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• oregano
• Rosemary, optional
• Thyme, optional
• 50 g butter
• 50 g flour
• 500 ml milk
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 500 g flour
• 4 eggs, possibly more
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt
• 500 g cheese, grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours; Total time approx. 7 hours

For the Bolognese, peel the carrots, quarter them lengthwise, and slice them thinly. Wash the celery, remove the leaves, trim off the white ends, then quarter them lengthwise and cut them into pieces roughly the same size as the carrots. Peel the onions and dice them into roughly the same size. Peel the garlic and either crush and chop it or mash it later with a press. Brown the minced meat in batches in a little oil in a large pan or pot. Allow the meat juices to boil away completely, then fry for a little longer. Add the onions and fry briefly. Add the celery and carrots, season with salt, and add the garlic. Fry the mixture for about 5-10 minutes over medium heat, until the celery is slightly translucent and the carrots are slightly soft. Deglaze with red wine and allow the red wine to reduce by about 2/3, then add the pureed and chopped tomatoes. If you want extra flavor, you can add a small bunch of rosemary and thyme, tied tightly with kitchen string so that the herbs can be easily removed at the end. Season the sauce with pepper, salt, paprika, and oregano. Carefully, as the sauce will reduce, do not overseason. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer on low heat with the lid on for at least 2 hours (6 hours is better), with the lid uncovered for the last 30 minutes. Season again at the end of cooking and remove the herbs if necessary. If you are not using ready-made lasagna sheets, knead the pasta dough from the listed ingredients, let it rest for at least 2 hours, then roll it out thinly, cut into rectangles approximately 5 x 10 cm, and pre-cook in salted water for 2 minutes. For the béchamel (optional; I prefer lasagna without), melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stir until smooth, and simmer until the mixture begins to brown. Whisk in the milk, add a bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the flour taste disappears. Remove the bay leaf. Layer the lasagna: In a large baking dish, alternate layers of Bolognese and pasta, using thin layers. If using béchamel sauce, layer Bolognese, pasta, Bolognese, pasta, béchamel, and pasta. The last layer should be Bolognese or béchamel. Then cover generously with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for about 40 minutes, uncovered for the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese.