Lasagne di Carnevale (Carnival Lasagna)

02/08/2025

When thinking about Carnival in the kitchen, the first thing that comes to mind is the nearly endless array of traditional sweets prepared during this period: castagnole, chiacchiere, cicerchiata, pignolata... the more, the merrier. But there are other typical Carnival preparations that are not sweets, and today, with our Cesarina Elena from Cascina, we present one of these: straight from Campania, here are Lasagne di Carnevale (Carnival Lasagna)! Usually served on Mardi Gras and Fat Thursday, they are actually perfect for celebrating any occasion, and bringing them to the table is sure to impress everyone.

This baked one-dish meal from Neapolitan tradition has ancient origins: as far back as the 18th century, King Ferdinand II enjoyed them so much that he earned the less-than-regal nickname "King Lasagna". But who could blame him? In this dish, layer upon layer of golden pasta sheets enclose a feast of ingredients that make it absolutely irresistible. Meatballs, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella: in a word, abundance.

"I call this lasagna a 'bomb,' because it’s so rich, and in the past, it was a prelude to the fasting that followed during Lent. My grandmother taught me how to make it when I was very little, and I still remember the precision of her movements. As an adult, I moved to Tuscany and discovered the classic lasagna, which is lighter, but at Carnival, there’s no contest: in my home, we only eat Neapolitan Carnival Lasagna!"

Lasagne di Carnevale (Carnival Lasagna) - preparation

As is often the case with traditional Italian recipes, there are many variations of Carnival Lasagna. The ragù, for instance, is prepared differently from one family to another. But the ragù is just one aspect that can be freely interpreted. So, let your creativity run wild and adapt the recipe to suit your personal tastes: in the end, the result will still be delicious!

Lasagne di Carnevale (Carnival Lasagna)

DifficultyMedium

Preparation time2h

Cooking time45m

Servings6

€

CostMedium

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce:
1 onion
80 g olive oil
Two bottles of tomato purée
Salt to taste
For the lasagna:
600 g all-purpose flour
6 eggs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the meatballs:
300 g mixed ground meat
2 slices of stale bread
1 egg
50 g grated Parmesan cheese
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying
For the filling:
200 g ricotta
200 g fior di latte or mozzarella
2 sausages
200 g Parmesan cheese

Method

Start by preparing the tomato sauce: heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion until golden. Then add the tomato purée, salt, and cook for about 40 minutes.
Begin making the lasagna dough by placing the flour in a mound on a work surface. Add the eggs and olive oil to the center, knead, and form a dough ball. Let it rest for 30 minutes, wrapped in plastic wrap.
Prepare the meatballs by mixing the ground meat, egg, bread softened with water and squeezed out, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Parmesan. Form small meatballs about 3 cm in size and fry them in a pan until golden.
Take the dough ball and roll it out to make lasagna sheets. Use a rolling pin or a pasta machine to create thin sheets, cutting them into rectangular strips of 10x15 cm.
Blanch the pasta strips briefly in boiling salted water and dry them on a cloth.
It’s time to assemble the lasagna: in a baking dish, spread a ladle of tomato sauce, then alternate layers of pasta sheets, ricotta, fior di latte, meatballs, crumbled sausage (without its casing), grated Parmesan, and tomato sauce. With the given quantities, you should have about three layers. Cover the final layer with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.
Bake at 200°C for 45 minutes.