Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours 55 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ease of preparation: intermediate

1 recipe basic pasta dough, recipe follows
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 recipe ragu Napoletana, cooled, meat reserved for another use and sausages thinly sliced, recipe follows
3 cups ricotta
1/2 recipe cooled polpette (meatballs), recipe follows
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 pound fresh mozzarella, shredded

Make the pasta dough according to the recipe and roll out to the thinnest setting on a pasta rolling machine. Cut the pasta into strips 5 inches wide and 10 inches long. Cover with a damp towel and set aside.

Bring about 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Set up an ice bath next to the stovetop and cook the lasagna 1 minute in the boiling water. Drain, refresh in the ice bath, and drain again. Lay out on clean, damp towels.

In a 10 by 20-inch lasagna pan, layer the lasagna, beginning with 3/4 cup ragu, then a layer of pasta, then a layer of ricotta, then a layer of polpette and sausage, then a layer of Parmigiano and mozzarella. Use all ingredients. The top layer should be covered with cheese.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until edges are bubbling. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Basic Pasta Dough

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape, as desired.

Neapolitan Meat Sauce: Ragu Napoletano

1/2 pound veal, cut into chunks
1/2 pound beef chuck, cut into chunks
1 onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled San Marzano tomatoes and juices, passed through a food mill
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausages
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch hot chili flakes

In a large pasta pot or Dutch oven, combine the veal, beef, onion and oil over high heat and cook until meat is seared on all sides and meat juices have evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until wine evaporates and meat is darker brown, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, sausages, salt, and chili flakes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook
2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming fat, as necessary.

Remove from heat and remove meat from ragu. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Yield: 4 cups, for 8 pasta servings

Neapolitan Meatballs: Polpette Alla Napoletana

3 cups day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
3 eggs, beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup grated pecorino
1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves finely chopped to yield 14 cup
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted for 2 minutes in a 400 degree F oven
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a shallow bowl, soak the bread cubes in enough water to cover. Remove the bread cubes and squeeze by hand to wring out excess moisture.

In a large bowl, combine the bread, beef, eggs, garlic, pecorino, parsley, pine nuts, salt, and pepper and mix by hand to incorporate bread into meat. With wet hands, form the mixture into 12 to 15 meatballs, each of a size somewhere between a tennis ball and a golf ball.

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil until almost smoking. Add the meatballs, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan, and cook until deep golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Serve warm or at room temperature, note that Italians would rarely serve meatballs with pasta.

Yield: 6 servings