Christmas Eve Lasagna
Welcome to Christmas Eve Lasagna, the most festive lasagna you’ll ever encounter! A modern take on traditional lasagna bolognese, this dish features layers of ricotta cheese topped with basil pesto sauce and festive red and green colors. This Christmas lasagna is the ideal meal to prepare for any special holiday dinner this season. It is equally beautiful and delicious.
Ah, the Christmas meal. The holiday season’s culinary wild card. Christmas dinner is kind of a free-for-all, unlike Thanksgiving when tradition forces us to serve very similar dishes year after year. Families seem to establish their own traditions, and I just adore this!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Yield: serves 12–15
INGREDIENTS
- nonstick cooking spray
- one 13.2-ounce box DeLallo No-Boil Lasagna
- Best-Ever Bolognese (below)
- basil pesto ricotta (below)
- 24 ounces shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 6 cups)
- 12 ounces Italian cheese blend, such as asiago, parmesan, etc. (about 3 cups)
For the Best-Ever Bolognese Sauce:
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 4 ounces pancetta, roughly chopped (see Recipe Notes)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- one 6-ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 cup medium-bodied red wine, such as Chianti
- 3–4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 10–12 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- optional: 1 parmesan rind
- one 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
For the basil pesto ricotta:
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese, whole milk, or part-skim as desired
- one 6.3-ounce jar DeLallo Simply Basil Pesto
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
INSTRUCTIONS
Best-Ever Bolognese Sauce:
1. Soffritto:
To the bowl of a food processor, add the carrot, celery, and onion that have been coarsely diced. Just enough pulses to break up the mixture into tiny bits. You should still be able to see small parts of onion, celery, and carrot in the mixture; it shouldn’t be completely puréed. Move to a medium bowl and leave aside.
2. Pestata:
No need to wash the food processor bowl before adding the pancetta and garlic to produce the soffritto. Just enough pulses to break up the mixture into tiny bits. Place aside.
3. Cook the pestata:
Over medium heat, add the olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot (with a minimum 4-quart capacity). When the pancetta has rendered and the garlic is aromatic, carefully add the pestata mixture from Step 1 and simmer for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly.
4. Brown the soffritto:
Soffritto that has been browned should be added to the pestata-and-soffritto combination in the pot from Step 1. Stir in 1 teaspoon of kosher salt before serving. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well-browned and fragrant. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low if the vegetables start to brown too rapidly. Push the pestata and soffritto mixture to the outer borders of the pot after it has browned.
5. Brown the meat:
Give the beef and pork a generous seasoning of 1 teaspoon of kosher salt each. The soffritto and pestata combination should be in the middle of the pot with the meat. Allow the meat to deeply brown for two to three minutes without touching it. For two to three minutes, flip the meat over and brown the other side. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces after it has been cooked on all sides. With the soffritto mixture, stir to blend. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring periodically, until thoroughly browned. Stirring to coat the meat and soffritto mixture, and add the tomato paste. To brown, cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Deglaze:
Pour the red wine into the pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that may have built up at the bottom of the saucepan as you stir continuously. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the meat mixture nearly fully absorbs the wine.