Vincisgrassi — Marche's Festive Baked Pasta

Marche — the dish is documented from the 18th century in sources from the Macerata and Ancona areas. The name's alleged connection to the Austrian general Windischgrätz is disputed — it may simply derive from 'vincisgrassi' (win the fat — a reference to the richness of the dish).

Vincisgrassi is the great baked pasta of the Marche: a lasagne-like preparation of thin egg pasta sheets layered with a rich ragù of chicken giblets and offal (the traditional version), or mixed pork and beef in the modern interpretation, bound with a besciamella made with cream and enriched with Marsala or aged wine vinegar. It is baked until browned and set, then rested before serving. Unlike Bolognese lasagne, the vincisgrassi sauce leans toward the savoury-mineral from the giblets, and the pasta sheets are thinner — the dish has a delicacy that the heavier Emilian version lacks. The name possibly derives from an 18th-century Austrian general, Windischgrätz, stationed in the Marche.

Vincisgrassi at its best is simultaneously richer and more delicate than Bolognese lasagne — the giblet ragù has a mineral, almost metallic depth from the livers and sweetbreads, rounded by the Marsala; the cream-enriched besciamella has a smoother, more luxurious texture; the thin pasta absorbs everything. It is a festive dish in the truest sense — not everyday, but truly special.