Servings: 10 to 15

Béchamel Sauce: subheading: Béchamel Sauce:
1/4 pound butter ¼ pound butter
1/2 cup unbleached flour (Tip: The couple uses King Arthur brand at home.) ½ cup unbleached flour (Tip: The couple uses King Arthur brand at home.)
4 cups cold milk 4 cups cold milk
Filling: subheading: Filling:
2 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese 2 ½ pounds ricotta cheese
2 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks, beaten together 2 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks, beaten together
Handful of chopped parsley Handful of chopped parsley
2 scant cups grated Parmesan (Tip: Use Parmigiano-Reggiano, "The real thing," says Viladas.) 2 scant cups grated Parmesan (Tip: Use Parmigiano-Reggiano, "The real thing," says Viladas.)
2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper and nutmeg to taste Freshly ground pepper and nutmeg to taste
Tomato Sauce (Sugo di Pomodoro): subheading: Tomato Sauce (Sugo di Pomodoro):
58 ounces canned whole tomatoes packed in juice 58 ounces canned whole tomatoes packed in juice
4 cloves peeled and split garlic 4 cloves peeled and split garlic
1 cup olive oil 1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste Salt and pepper to taste
Pasta Fresca (Fresh Egg Pasta): subheading: Pasta Fresca (Fresh Egg Pasta):
3 cups flour 3 cups flour
3 eggs 3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon salt
3 ounces water 3 ounces water
Drizzle olive oil Drizzle olive oil

Balsamella (Béchamel Sauce): subheading: Balsamella (Béchamel Sauce):
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over a low flame. When the butter is frothing or bubbling, add the flour, mixing very well with a small whisk. Cook for 5 minutes or until the flour taste is gone from the roux.
When the roux is cooked, add the milk while stirring with the whisk. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently. Add kosher salt to taste. (At the restaurant, the couple uses finely grated sea salt.) The sauce should cool for 30 minutes and will thicken to a perfect consistency for lasagna.
Filling: subheading: Filling:
Mix ingredients in large bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Tomato Sauce (Sugo di Pomodoro): subheading: Tomato Sauce (Sugo di Pomodoro):
Pass tomatoes through a food mill to remove seeds. Heat oil in a non-reactive pan and add the garlic; saute until nut brown. Add tomatoes and simmer vigorously for 10 minutes. Remove garlic and spice to taste.
Pasta Fresca (Fresh Egg Pasta): subheading: Pasta Fresca (Fresh Egg Pasta):
Add flour, beaten eggs, oil and salt into bowl of food processor. Pulse several times. Drizzle in an ounce or 2 of water while pulsing processor until ingredients bind into small pearls of pasta.
Remove pearls from bowl and knead with the palm of your hand once. The pasta should feel lively and supple, not stiff or mushy or wet. If the pasta is either too wet or too dry, place pasta back into food processor and adjust consistency with either more flour or more water. Knead pasta for several minutes with the palm of your hand until it is as soft as a baby's bottom. Wrap in a clean dish towel until ready to roll out.
Roll out 4 18-inch pasta sheets until you get to the thinnest setting of your machine. (Viladas dusts flour on each sheet after rolling it out, folds it over, then rolls it out on a thinner setting.) Then roll out 14 10-inch sheets. (Tip: "If you can see your hand through it, it's correct," says Viladas.)
Sprinkle flour between each layer and stack the sheets on top of each other, covered with a clean dishcloth until ready to use. (Don't make the pasta too far in advance. At the most, Viladas prepares it a few hours before he plans to assemble the lasagna.)
LASAGNA ASSEMBLY: subheading: LASAGNA ASSEMBLY:
1 buttered 15-by-10-by-2-inch Pyrex baking dish
Large pasta pot with insert strainer, filled with salted boiling water
Paper towels
Clean dish towels laid out on a table near the boiling pasta water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Carefully place 1 18-inch pasta sheet in the boiling water, folding it in so it does not stick to itself (Tip: Viladas lowers it gently and slowly.) Boil 2 minutes. Remove from water using strainer insert, shock it in a bowl of cold water to stop further cooking, carefully lay it flat on the dish towel and pat dry with paper towels. Lay the sheet into 1 side of the Pyrex dish, letting pasta hang off either end about 2 inches, and about ½ inch over the side.
Repeat this step twice using the other 2 sheets of pasta, laying 1 sheet in the middle of the dish and the last sheet on the other side. (The middle sheet should overlap the others by an inch or 2.) You are creating the bottom and wraparound layer of the lasagna.
Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over this first layer of pasta.
Boil 2 10-inch sheets of pasta, pat dry, and place these side by side in the Pyrex to cover the marinara layer (these interior layers aren't supposed to overlap the edges of the Pyrex; they lie flat inside).
Spread half the ricotta mix evenly over the pasta layer, gently using a flat spatula.
Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer on top of ricotta.
Cover pasta layer with half the béchamel sauce. (Distribute it evenly, making sure some gets in the corner pieces too.)
Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer on top of béchamel.
Cover this layer with a thin layer of marinara sauce.
Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer on top of marinara.
Layer with rest of ricotta mix.
Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer on top of ricotta.
Cover with rest of béchamel.
Boil 2 more 10-inch pasta sheets, pat dry, layer on top of béchamel.
Cover with thin layer of marinara.
Top with last 2 layers of pasta sheets.
Fold the overhanging pasta layer over the top pasta layer, making a neat package of lasagna. (Viladas notches the corners of the top sheets so they can be folded more neatly.)
Top with ¼-inch layer of marinara sauce and 1 more layer of pasta on top. Tuck edges of top layer in.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and let lasagna come to room temperature, or refrigerate for 3 or more hours until you are about 1 hour away from serving. (This is the first of 2 times you will bake the pasta. If you try to serve it now, or if you put it back in the oven for the second bake without allowing it to cool first, it will be runny and fall apart.)
Add a layer of marinara, and bake lasagna for a second time at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
General tips: It helps to keep a second pot of pasta water boiling to add to your main pot as the water evaporates over time while you cook the noodles. Also, if you keep your hands wet, they won't get tacky touching the pasta.
Serving: Using a sharp knife, cut the lasagna into 10 3-by-5-inch or 15 3-by-3-inch pieces (yes, they use a measuring tape). Heat remaining marinara on the stovetop. Place each piece on a plate and spoon a little marinara over the top, garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley