Vincisgrassi
“Marche-region grand lasagna — egg-rich pasta sheets layered with a long-cooked ragù of mixed offal (chicken giblets, sweetbreads), pork, prosciutto, dried porcini, white truffle (when in season), béchamel, and parmigiano, baked until bubbling and crusty-golden on top.”
Where it comes from
Vincisgrassi is the Marche region's grand feast lasagna, often confused with Bolognese lasagne alla bolognese but distinctly different. The name's origin is debated — popular folklore says it comes from Austrian general Alfred von Windisch-Graetz, who occupied Ancona in 1799 and supposedly had the dish made for his troops (probably myth — the dish is documented in Marche cookbooks earlier than 1799). The defining features: pasta sheets enriched with vin santo (sweet wine) in the dough; a ragù of mixed meats including offal (chicken giblets, sometimes sweetbreads), prosciutto, and dried porcini mushrooms; béchamel as the binder; and traditionally white truffle from Acqualagna shaved over the top in autumn. The dish takes a full day to prepare and is the centerpiece of Marche Sunday lunches and feast days.
On the plate
A square of vincisgrassi cut from the dish reveals 7 layers when you look at the cross-section: pasta-ragù-béchamel stacked in geological strata, the bottom layers darker with absorbed juice, the top layers crispy where they kissed the oven. The flavor is denser and richer than Bolognese lasagne — the offal in the ragù gives a mineral-iron depth that ground beef alone can't reach, the porcini layer in earthy mushroom depth, the prosciutto a salt-meat backbone. Add white truffle on top and the dish hits a different register entirely. Each square serves one person — anything bigger is heroic.
How it works
Offal (chicken livers and giblets) in the ragù is essential to vincisgrassi's character — it provides a depth that purely-muscular meats can't match. The vin santo in the pasta dough adds a subtle sweetness that balances the ragù's richness; standard egg pasta would taste flat in such a heavy dish. The 7 layers are not random — too few layers and the dish feels heavy and one-note, too many and the pasta dominates over the ragù. The 40-minute high-temp bake creates the crispy top that contrasts with the soft interior; longer cooking dries it out.
Variations
Marche canonical uses chicken offal + dried porcini + white truffle (when in season); Ancona coastal variant skips truffle and adds seafood (a fish-vincisgrassi — controversial); modern Macerata restaurants serve mini-vincisgrassi as a starter; commercial supermarket vincisgrassi exist but use only ground meat (no offal — flatter); the dish absolutely requires a long-cooked ragù; quick-cook versions fail; some 17th-century recipes specify the dish be made the day before and reheated (sensible advice).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓150 min active · 150 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 133 min
Soak 30g dried porcini in 200ml hot water 30 min; strain, reserve liquid, chop mushrooms.
- 220 min
Make ragù: in a heavy pot, brown 300g ground beef + 200g ground pork + 100g pancetta (diced) + 200g chicken livers and giblets (finely chopped) in 4 tbsp olive oil + 1 diced onion + 1 diced carrot + 1 diced celery + 2 minced garlic cloves, 15 min. Add 100g chopped prosciutto + the chopped porcini. Cook 5 min.
- 3152 min
Add 1 cup white wine; reduce 5 min. Add 600g passata + the porcini liquid + 1 tsp salt + black pepper + 2 bay leaves + 1 sprig rosemary + grated nutmeg. Cover; simmer on low 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Discard bay and rosemary at end.
- 442 min
Make pasta dough: pile 400g 00 flour, well in center, add 4 eggs + 50ml vin santo (or sweet wine) + pinch of salt + 1 tbsp olive oil. Knead 10 min until smooth. Rest 30 min.
- 512 min
Make béchamel: in a saucepan, melt 60g butter; whisk in 60g flour; cook 2 min. Slowly whisk in 700ml warm milk; bring to gentle boil, stirring; cook 5 min until thickened. Off heat, add 1/2 tsp nutmeg, salt, white pepper, and 50g grated parmigiano.
- 618 min
Roll pasta dough into sheets 1mm thick; cut into rectangles to fit your baking dish (about 30x20cm). Blanch sheets briefly in salted water (45 sec); shock in cold water; pat dry on towels.
- 718 min
Assemble: butter a deep 30x20cm baking dish. Spread thin layer of béchamel. Layer: pasta sheet → ragù → béchamel → grated parmigiano. Repeat for 7 layers total, finishing with a generous pasta-ragù-béchamel-parmigiano top.
- 855 min
Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 40 min until top is deeply golden and edges are crisp. Rest 15 min before cutting. Optional: shave 10g fresh white truffle from Acqualagna over hot vincisgrassi at table just before serving (October-December only).
What you'll need
Hand-held wire loop tool for beating eggs, whipping cream, emulsifying dressings, and incorporating air into batters. Balloon whisks (large round head) for whipping cream and meringues; French whisks (narrow tear-drop) for sauces in pots; flat whisks (gravy) for pan sauces. Stainless steel is universal; silicone-coated for non-stick pans.
Round metal pot, 14-26 cm diameter, with vertical walls and a long handle, designed for sauces, soups, oatmeal, rice, boiled vegetables. The vertical walls minimize evaporation (vs. a sauté pan). Sizes: 1 qt for melting butter, 2-3 qt for sauces, 4 qt for soups. Stainless-steel-clad aluminum or copper is best for conduction; cast-iron is too thick for delicate sauces.
