Today I want to tell you the story of a lasagna Bolognese that did not came to be. A few weekends ago, I made a big batch of ragu alla Bolognese on a quiet Saturday afternoon. I loosely followed the recipe on Fine Cooking. It was a simmering haven of comfort from the minute the onion hit the pot to the moment I greedily slurped the last strand of tagliatelle coated with sauce.
The great thing about ragu is leftover. It would be a pity if you’re only making enough for one meal since the time and effort are the same. The meaty taste of grass-fed beef and the sweetness of carrot, onion, celery meld together into something magical after hours of simmering. After a satisfying dinner of fresh tagliatelle tossed in ragu, I packed away three containers of leftover sauce to the freezer. I told Little Brother to help himself to the leftovers in case he wanted to take home some quick meal options for weekdays.
I forgot about the ragu until I revisited smitten kitchen’s epic recipe for lasagna Bolognese. Sure I do not plan to make pasta from scratch anytime soon, I certainly like her version of using homemade ragu and béchamel sauce. I got all my missing ingredients last Friday after work and took out two containers of sauce from the freezer. I was super excited about a homemade lasagna weekend. It’s been a long time since I had lasagna.
When Little Brother came home for the weekend, I told him of the special treat I planned to make. Instead of sharing my excitement and anticipation, he said “Are you making more ragu? Because I had two containers already for weeknight dinner. They were good.”
His response sent me into a frenzy to the kitchen. I was sure I defrosted two boxes. The numbers didn’t add up! I removed the lid and discovered a box of ragu and and box of…chilli. Oh dear. It would have been a very interesting lasagna indeed had I not catch this mistake in time.
My dreamy lasagna Bolognese will have to wait for another time. We ate our chilli and cornbread in silence on Saturday. It was good. But it was not lasagna.
