Lasagne with fresh einkorn pasta

Einkorn makes a tender, golden egg pasta that's softer than semolina dough. The pasta and the béchamel are both made with einkorn. You can make the ragù a day ahead.

• Serves 8, 33 × 23 cm (13 × 9 in) dish
• Active 1½ hours
• Total about 4 hours

Ragù

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 500 g beef mince and 250 g pork mince
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 150 ml dry red wine
• 2 × 400 g tins crushed tomatoes
• 150 ml whole milk
• 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper

Einkorn pasta

• 400 g fresh-milled whole einkorn flour, sifted (see notes)
• 4 large eggs and 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp fine salt

Einkorn béchamel

• 70 g butter
• 55 g fresh-milled whole einkorn flour
• 900 ml whole milk, warmed
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, 1 tsp salt

To assemble

• 100 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 200 g low-moisture mozzarella, grated (optional)

Method

Ragù

1. Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
2. Turn the heat up, add both minces, and cook them until browned, breaking them up. Stir in the tomato paste for 2 minutes, then add the wine and let it bubble away.
3. Add the tomatoes, milk and bay leaf. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 1½–2 hours, stirring now and then. The sauce should end up thick but still loose, because the pasta absorbs liquid as it bakes. Season and remove the bay leaf.

Pasta

1. Heap the flour on a worktop and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs, yolks, oil and salt to the well. Beat them with a fork, gradually drawing in the flour.
2. Knead for 3–5 minutes, until smooth. Einkorn needs far less kneading than semolina. If it's crumbly, add a teaspoon of water or beaten egg at a time. If it's sticky, dust it lightly with flour.
3. Wrap the dough and rest it for 30 minutes at room temperature. This step matters with whole-grain flour, because it lets the bran soften so the dough rolls without cracking.
4. Cut the dough into 6 pieces. Roll each through a pasta machine, starting at the widest setting and working down to the second- or third-thinnest. Whole-grain sheets tear at the thinnest setting. Cut the sheets to fit your dish and lay them on a floured cloth.

Béchamel

1. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until it smells nutty.
2. Whisk in the warm milk a ladleful at a time. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking, until it coats a spoon. Season with the nutmeg and salt. If you see flecks of bran and want a silkier sauce, strain it.

Assemble and bake

1. Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F).
2. Spread a thin layer of ragù in the dish. Then layer pasta, ragù, béchamel and a scattering of Parmesan (and mozzarella, if using). Repeat 4–5 times. Finish with pasta, the rest of the béchamel, and the rest of the cheese.
3. The fresh sheets go in raw, with no boiling. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for 20–25 minutes more, until bubbling and browned.
4. Rest for 20 minutes before cutting so the layers set.