Not all meat sauces are the same, but you can make lasagne with all of them!!!
This recipe is a fairly new entry in our house, I would say it represents a natural evolution from my wife’s favorite pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe, something I only started cooking once I arrived in the US. For any Italian in fact, traditional meat sauce like the one that grandmas of the Peninsula spend their Sunday morning simmering and stirring, is prepared with a blend of ground meats: usually equal proportions of beef, veal and pork. Real Bolognese Sauce also has a generous soffritto of onions, carrots and celery as its base, while in this version there is no herbs sautéed, and all ingredients are seared together.
Pick your sausage wisely (life advice), avoiding hyper seasoned or flavored meats. My favorite blend is what NYC butchers call Mild Sausage, which is seasoned only with salt and pepper, some fell seeds and/or pollen, and minimal salt. Trust me, I have made this mistake many years ago of not paying enough attention while shopping for my ingredients, when I did not even know that Mexican Flavored ground meat existed… pasta sauce with Taco flavored meat will take your breath away, ruin your dinner, and leave you friendless.
Please note that I am only seasoning the red sauce in this recipe, as usually sausage meat is always flavorful and does not need any additions; once all ingredients are blended together everything will fall into place… a delicious place.
This sauce is very different in flavor from a traditional Bolognese sauce as well. This ragu’ is not gentle or saddle (like only veal meat can be), but rather firm and punchy; this is a sauce with character, decise and luxurious in its fattiness! Enjoy it on your favorite cut of pasta, possibly a shape that can collect the sauce properly like shells or penne or fusilli. Double the recipe and freeze some, or since you are at the stove, keep working your elbow and stir up some besciamella and layer the best lasagne you can possibly make!