Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound lasagne
- 1/3 pound Calabrian salted ricotta (see below)
- 1 ounce pancetta or prosciutto fat
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 a medium-sized onion, finely sliced
- 1/2 a celery rib (about 5-inch), julienned
- 1/2 a carrot thinly sliced
- 1/2 a garlic clove
- 1/4 cup (packed) parsley leaves
- 1 1/2 pounds blanched, peeled and seeded tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- Salt to taste
Preparation:
Mince the pancetta, parsley, and garlic, and set it to heat in a pot with the olive oil, carrot and celery. Sauté, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent, then add the tomatoes. Continue cooking over a very low flame until the greens are cooked, taking care lest the sauce cook down too much -- it should remain fairly liquid; add boiling broth or water if need be.In the meantime bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil (very lightly, as the cheese is salty), and cook the pasta, draining it while it's still fairly al dente. Transfer it to a serving dish, and spoon a goodly amount of sauce over it. Turn the sheets of pasta so as to coat them well with the sauce, grate about half the cheese over the pasta, turn the pasta again, and grate the remainder over the pasta and serve, with the remainder of the sauce on the side, in a sauce boat.
This will go nicely with Ciró (either rosato or red), a light Aglianico del Vulture, or perhaps a robust white wine, for example a Vermentino dei Colli di Luni.
Note: Salted ricotta is just that, a firm salty grating cheese that is common in Southern Italy. If you cannot find it, substitute with Romano.
Yield: 4-6 servings tomatoey, cheesy Calabrian lasagna.
