Name: The Nearly Perfect Homemade Lasagna Guide
Total time: 4 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb Chuck roast, ground, to yield 1 lb / 450 g of ground beef; 1 lb Pork shoulder, ground, to yield 1 lb / 450 g of ground pork; 4 oz Guanciale, or pancetta, diced; 1 Yellow onion, medium, finely diced; 1 Celery, finely diced rib; 2 Carrots, finely diced; 3 tbsp Tomato paste, or 60 g; 1 cup White wine, or water; 1 1/2 cup Chicken stock, or 354 ml; 17.6 oz Crushed tomatoes, or 500 g container; 3 cup All-purpose flour, or 480 g; 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt, or 3 g; 5 Eggs, whole; 1 tbsp Water, cold, as needed; Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan; 1/2 cup Whole milk ricotta, or 125 g, per layer; Fresh basil, torn leaves; Prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced; Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated; Fontina cheese, grated; Fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Method

14 steps. Tap one to mark it done.

If you are processing your own meat, run the chuck roast and pork shoulder through a grinder. Place the ground beef and ground pork together in a bowl and knead the mixture for about 1 minute to combine the fats.
Warm a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat after adding just enough oil to cover the bottom. Shape half of the meat mixture into a thin, broad patty and transfer it to the hot pot. Avoid adding any salt at this point. Sear the meat for 2 to 3 minutes per side until a deep brown crust forms. Do the same with the other half of the meat, working in batches to prevent overcrowding. Remove the cooked meat and set aside.
Using either a different pan or the same pot, fry the guanciale or pancetta over medium heat. Once it is browned and crispy, remove it and set aside.
Put the diced onion, celery, and carrots into the main pot containing the rendered meat drippings. Sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes, waiting for the vegetables to become soft and translucent. Mix in the tomato paste, cooking the mixture until the paste starts sticking slightly to the bottom of the pot.
Deglaze the pot with the white wine, stirring well, and let it simmer until the volume decreases by half. Pour in the chicken stock and the crushed tomatoes.
Transfer the browned meat and crispy guanciale or pancetta back into the pot, making sure to include any resting juices. Simmer the mixture on low heat for 1 to 2 hours, cooking until you have a thick, meat-heavy sauce. If desired, press a vegetable masher into the sauce near the end of the cooking time to crumble the meat into a finer, more uniform consistency.
Prepare the fresh pasta by combining the flour and fine sea salt in a large bowl. Create a hollow space in the middle of the dry ingredients and drop in the eggs. Use a fork to beat the eggs, gradually drawing in the flour from the inner walls. Work the dough until it holds together, mixing in cold water 1 tablespoon at a time if the mixture seems overly dry. Enclose the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Cut the rested dough into 4 equal pieces. Press each portion into a coarse oval shape, then feed it through a pasta roller on its widest setting, sprinkling with additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Continue passing the dough through increasingly narrow settings until it becomes translucent enough that your hand is visible through the sheet when lifted to the light. Slice the dough into sheets that match the dimensions of your baking dish.
Fill a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil, and salt it heavily. Cook the fresh pasta sheets in the boiling water for just 10 seconds, then retrieve them promptly and let them drain. If substituting dry sheets, cook them until they are still highly al dente.
Set your oven to heat to 350°F (165°C). Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with unsalted butter.
Smear a scant coating of meat sauce across the bottom of the prepared pan so the pasta does not stick. Lay down a sheet of pasta over this sauce. Spread a sparse layer of ricotta cheese next, then scatter torn basil leaves, arrange a layer of prosciutto, spoon over a layer of meat sauce, and top with plenty of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Fontina, and sliced fresh mozzarella.
Replicate this sequence of layers 2 to 3 more times, completing the assembly with a top layer of pasta sheets, meat sauce, and a heavy scattering of the remaining cheeses.
Set the filled baking dish on top of a larger baking sheet to capture any spills. Cook in the heated oven for about 1 hour, or until the cheese is bubbling and the top layer has turned a rich golden brown.
Allow the lasagna to sit undisturbed for 20 to 25 minutes before cutting into portions, which helps the layers set.