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Italian · V The Canonical Dishes · Marche

Vincigrassi — Marchigiana Lasagne with Offal

Marche

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Origin

Marche, central Italy. Named after the Austrian general Windischgrätz — the name is a Marchigiana pronunciation corruption of the German. The first documented recipe appears in Antonio Nebbia's 1779 book 'Il Cuoco Maceratese'.

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Description

Vincigrassi is the regional lasagne of the Marche — a baked pasta of egg pasta sheets, a rich ragù of chicken livers, sweetbreads, and minced meat, besciamella, and grated Parmigiano. Unlike Bolognese lasagne (all'Emiliana), vincigrassi includes offal in the ragù — specifically chicken livers, prosciutto, and sometimes sweetbreads — which gives the sauce a darker, more complex, more mineral flavour than the pork-and-beef Bolognese ragù. It is named after an Austrian general (Prince Windischgrätz), which commemorates the 1799 Battle of Ancona.

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The Thread

—Baked pasta with ragù and besciamella — vincigrassi is the Marchigiana version of the same baked pasta tradition with the addition of offal to the ragù, which is the key regional differentiation Bolognese
—Baked pasta with chicken liver sauce and cream — the French tradition of chicken-liver-enriched pasta gratins shares the same principle of offal depth in a pasta-and-cream bake French
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Flavour Context

The chicken liver adds a mineral, slightly ferrous depth to the ragù that elevates it beyond the straightforward sweetness of a Bolognese. The besciamella unifies and enriches. The combination is more complex and adult in flavour than Emilian lasagne — richer, darker, more complex.

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