Macerata Lasagna with Poultry Offal and Black Truffle

La storia di questo piatto

Vincigrassi carries the soul of the Marche hills in every layer — a noble lasagna born in Macerata where giblets whisper of farmyard mornings and black truffle seals each stratum like a secret kept for centuries. It is not a dish invented but rather remembered, as if the land itself pressed its memory between sheets of egg-gold pasta.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Poultry offal (heart, liver, gizzard)
• 30 g Black truffle from Norcia
• 150 g Ground pancetta
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 medium Carrot
• 1 stalk Celery
• 150 ml Dry white wine
• 500 ml Chicken broth
• 400 g Peeled tomatoes
• 500 g Fresh egg pasta sheet
• 80 g Butter
• 60 g All-purpose flour
• 500 ml Whole milk
• 150 g Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• q.b. to taste Salt and black pepper

Preparazione

1. Start with the offal: clean it carefully, removing all the membranes and little bits of fat that make it taste bitter. Chop it finely with a knife along with the pancetta, because the knife releases the flavors much better than a food processor ever could. Then finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery into small, even pieces: this will be the fragrant heart of your ragù.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot and add the soffritto, letting it wilt gently until it turns glossy and smells like home cooking. Add the chopped pancetta and offal, turn up the heat, and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes while stirring frequently: it should sizzle and take on a beautiful brown color, a sign that the flavors are sealing themselves in.
3. Pour in the white wine and stir, scraping up all the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, and let the alcohol burn off until you no longer smell its sharp, pungent aroma. Add the canned tomatoes, crushing them by hand, along with the broth, then grate the truffle directly into the pot so you don't lose any of its aroma. Lower the heat to the gentlest simmer and let it bubble slowly for an hour and a half, stirring from time to time: the ragù is ready when it has reduced down, become thick and glossy, and the spoon leaves a trail as it drags across the bottom of the pot.
4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add all the flour at once, and stir vigorously for two minutes over low heat until the mixture becomes smooth and smells faintly of biscuit without darkening at all. Pour in the warm milk little by little, stirring constantly so no lumps form, and cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce coats the back of the spoon; adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg, which is the secret ingredient that gives it that warm, enveloping aroma.
5. Butter the bottom and sides of your baking dish generously so the lasagna will never stick. Lay down the first sheet of pasta, then a thin layer of ragù, a layer of béchamel, and a light dusting of Parmigiano; repeat the layers with care and consistency, pressing gently each time, until the dish is full and you finish with a generous layer of béchamel on top and plenty of cheese, which will turn into a golden, crispy crust in the oven.
6. Bake in a preheated 180°C oven and let it cook for 35 to 40 minutes until the surface puffs up slightly and becomes golden and crispy in patches. The moment it comes out of the oven, resist the urge to cut into it right away: let it rest for 10 minutes so the layers settle and each slice comes out neat and beautiful to look at.