Cheesy, Meaty Lasagna

Directions

1. Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps loosening the meat without compacting it. Set aside until ready to cook.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium high and cook pancetta, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered and golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a large bowl leaving the fat in the pot.
3. Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon, scraping up any browned bits from pot, until meat is lightly browned on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned meat to a bowl with pancetta leaving the fat in the pot.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook celery, onion, carrot, half of garlic, bay, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Add wine, stir to combine and bring to a boil until reduced, very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce to low, add basil, parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated away and mixture resembles a sloppy joe mixture, 2 to 2½ hours. There shouldn’t be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragù should release occasional small bubbles. If you have a small burner you should use it, the larger burners even at their lowest setting might cook the ragù too quickly. If the ragù reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of stock and continue cooking; repeat if necessary. The ragù needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
5. After the ragù has finished cooking, discard bay, basil, and Parmesan rind. Using the back of a spoon, break up any remaining clumps of meat to make an even-textured sauce. Season with salt set aside until ready to assemble.
6. Arrange a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally and separating noodles so they don’t stick to each other, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center; 5 minutes. Transfer noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
7. Whisk ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, remaining garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
8. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Spread 1 cup ragù evenly on the bottom of the dish. Lay a single layer of noodles over ragù, 5 short noodles or 3 long ones (if using long noodles you will need to cut some noodles in order to fill all gaps). Spread 1 1/3 cups ragù over noodles. Dollop 1/3 cup ricotta mixture over ragù, spread slightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat with remaining ragù, noodles, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta (or 5, depending on how deep your pan is) and ending with remaining mozzarella. It should come just above the top of the dish but will sink down slightly as it cooks. The top layer of pasta will get super crunchy when baked. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
9. Cover with a lightly oiled piece of foil and set on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips). Bake lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F, uncover, and continue to bake until top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Let sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving.