Neapolitan Carnival Lasagna (Lasagna di Carnevale)
Curly dried lasagna layered with a long-simmered Neapolitan tomato ragù, tiny meatballs, sliced sausage, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, hard-boiled eggs and salami: the Carnival feast before Lent.
In Naples, lasagna is the Carnival dish, eaten on the last feast days before the fast of Lent, and every family has its own version. Scatti di Gusto, the Naples-based food site, calls it almost obligatory at Carnival and lists what sets it apart: tiny fried meatballs, sausage, salami, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta, smoked provola or fior di latte and grated cheese, all bound with ragù napoletano. Wikipedia notes that Italian-American lasagna recipes show this Neapolitan influence, often using ricotta where Bologna uses béchamel. Scatti di Gusto says the dish reached Naples from the Bourbon court in the late 1700s and that a Bourbon king was nicknamed "Re Lasagna"; which king, and whether the story is true, is DISPUTED (see Rules).
Why it works the kitchen science
Small fillings, even layers
Grape-size meatballs and thin sausage rounds lie flat between the noodles, so every slice gets some of everything (America's Test Kitchen).
Creamy ricotta
Loosening the ricotta with a little water spreads it into the layers instead of leaving dry lumps (Scatti di Gusto).
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the ragù. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft. Add the sausages and brown them on all sides, 8 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute. Add the purée, water and basil, bring to a bare simmer and cook partly covered on the lowest heat 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes, until thick and dark red. Lift out the sausages (well past 160°F by now), cool and slice into thin rounds. Discard the basil and season the sauce.
- Step 2
While the ragù cooks, heat the oven to 450°F. Mix the meatball ingredients by hand and roll into grape-size balls (about 60). Bake on an oiled rimmed sheet 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through (160°F). Lower the oven to 375°F.
- Step 3
Hard-boil the eggs (cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cover off the heat 10 minutes, then cool in ice water) and slice them. In a bowl, mash the ricotta with 2 tbsp water and a pinch of salt and pepper until it is a thick cream.
- Step 4
Boil the noodles in a large pot of salted water until just short of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain, rinse with cold water and lay flat on clean kitchen towels.
- Step 5
Spread 1 cup of ragù in a 9 by 13-inch dish at least 3 inches deep. Lay in 4 noodles. Spoon on about 1 cup ragù, dot with a quarter of the ricotta, then scatter a quarter of the meatballs, sausage, mozzarella, salami and egg slices, and a handful of grated cheese. Repeat three more times.
- Step 6
Top with the last noodles, the remaining ragù, any remaining ricotta and grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 30 minutes more, until bubbling and browned at the edges, with the center at 165°F.
- Step 7
Rest 30 minutes before cutting, so the layers hold.
Neapolitan Carnival Lasagna (Lasagna di Carnevale)
Serves 10 · one deep 9 by 13-inch lasagna · 5 hr total
Ragù
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage links (thin links if you can find them)
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cans (28 oz each) tomato purée or passata
- 1 cup water
- 1 small bunch basil
- Salt
Meatballs
- 12 oz 85% lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
Layers
- 16 dried curly-edged lasagna noodles (from a 1-lb box)
- 15 oz whole-milk ricotta
- 12 oz fresh mozzarella (fior di latte) or smoked provola, diced and patted dry
- 4 large eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
- 3 oz Italian dry salami, cut into thin strips
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
Method
- Make the ragù. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft. Add the sausages and brown them on all sides, 8 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute. Add the purée, water and basil, bring to a bare simmer and cook partly covered on the lowest heat 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes, until thick and dark red. Lift out the sausages (well past 160°F by now), cool and slice into thin rounds. Discard the basil and season the sauce.
- While the ragù cooks, heat the oven to 450°F. Mix the meatball ingredients by hand and roll into grape-size balls (about 60). Bake on an oiled rimmed sheet 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through (160°F). Lower the oven to 375°F.
- Hard-boil the eggs (cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cover off the heat 10 minutes, then cool in ice water) and slice them. In a bowl, mash the ricotta with 2 tbsp water and a pinch of salt and pepper until it is a thick cream.
- Boil the noodles in a large pot of salted water until just short of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain, rinse with cold water and lay flat on clean kitchen towels.
- Spread 1 cup of ragù in a 9 by 13-inch dish at least 3 inches deep. Lay in 4 noodles. Spoon on about 1 cup ragù, dot with a quarter of the ricotta, then scatter a quarter of the meatballs, sausage, mozzarella, salami and egg slices, and a handful of grated cheese. Repeat three more times.
- Top with the last noodles, the remaining ragù, any remaining ricotta and grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 30 minutes more, until bubbling and browned at the edges, with the center at 165°F.
- Rest 30 minutes before cutting, so the layers hold.
Ingredients and layering adapted from Scatti di Gusto, "Lasagna, la ricetta perfetta" (serves 9; dried curly durum-wheat lasagne, ragù napoletano, fried meatballs, ricotta worked to a cream with a little water, sausages cooked in the ragù, smoked provola, hard-boiled eggs, salami; 160 to 170°C for about 1 1/2 hours; 30 minute rest). The oven-baked mini meatballs, 13 by 9-inch layering and "short noodles crosswise" advice come from America's Test Kitchen, "Lasagna di Carnevale" (2011). Our ragù is a shortened, same-day version of a Neapolitan ragù; Scatti di Gusto and Dissapore both recommend making a longer one the day before. scattidigusto.it. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- For a deeper ragù, simmer it 4 to 6 hours the day before, as Neapolitan cooks do; it also makes assembly day easier.
- Fresh mozzarella is wet. Dice it and leave it on paper towels while the ragù cooks, or the lasagna turns watery.
- Frying the meatballs in olive oil is the traditional way; baking them is easier and keeps the kitchen clean.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Meatballs, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and hard-boiled egg. Documented as the Carnival build (Scatti di Gusto; Wikipedia).
- Dried pasta or fresh egg pasta. Disputed: Scatti di Gusto's recipe and the Rossopomodoro chefs it quotes use dried durum-wheat lasagne, and Visit Italy says egg pasta is not used; other cookbooks cited by Scatti di Gusto and Dissapore call for fresh egg pasta.
- "Re Lasagna". Disputed: Scatti di Gusto says King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies was given the nickname by his father; Il Foglio and Balarm give it to his son Francis II.
- Neapolitans say the best lasagna is from Bologna. Folklore: Wikipedia reports that the Neapolitan dish is "not held in high esteem locally"; we found no survey or named source for it.
- The ancestor of American lasagna. Neapolitan influence on Italian-American recipes is Documented (Wikipedia), but calling it "the" single ancestor is not proven; say "the style most American lasagna resembles".
Every other lasagna
Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese
Thin sheets of green spinach pasta layered at least six times with slow-cooked ragù, a light béchamel, butter and plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano. No ricotta, no mozzarella.
Vincisgrassi alla Maceratese
The Marche's protected baked pasta: seven or eight layers of Marsala-scented egg pasta with a ragù of chunked chicken, veal and pork plus chicken livers, a little béchamel and a crisp Parmigiano top.
Classic American Lasagna with Ricotta and Mozzarella
The lasagna most Americans grew up with: a quick beef, pork and veal tomato sauce, a basil-flecked ricotta layer and a blanket of melted mozzarella, built with no-boil noodles.
White Chicken Lasagna (Alfredo-Style)
A tomato-free lasagna of tender poached chicken and golden mushrooms in a garlicky Parmesan white sauce, under a lid of melted mozzarella.
Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna
A meatless lasagna with a bright green spinach-ricotta filling, a fresh basil tomato sauce and plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan.
Lasagna Roll-Ups
Curly lasagna noodles spread with herby ricotta, rolled into spirals and baked in a beef, mushroom and pepper tomato sauce under melted mozzarella.
35-Minute One-Skillet Lasagna
Broken lasagna noodles simmered right in a meaty tomato sauce in one covered skillet, finished with Parmesan and creamy dollops of ricotta. No oven, no layering.
Restaurant-Style Lasagna Classico, Inspired by Olive Garden
Inspired by, not official: a big, saucy restaurant-style lasagna with a beef-and-Italian-sausage meat sauce and four cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and Pecorino Romano.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.