Yet another way to prepare for the arrival of Lent is Lasagne alla Ricotta; this recipe is drawn from a spectacular compendium Cavalcanti, Duca di Buonvicino, assembled in the 1850s.
To serve 8:
To serve 8:
Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 pounds store-bought lasagne, ideally fresh
- ** For the Béchamel Sauce **
- 3/4 cup (75 g) flour
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 4/5 quart (800 ml) milk
- Salt to taste
- ** For the Sauce **
- 1 1/8 pound 500 g) Neapolitan mild sausages
- 2 ounces (60 g) prosciutto
- 2 ounces (60 g) smoked pancetta (in its absence use unsmoked pancetta, not bacon)
- 1 medium-sized onion, minced
- 1 small carrot, minced
- Parsley, thyme and marjoram, minced (to taste; figure 1 tbsp of parsley and a teaspoon each of the other two)
- A few leaves rosemary
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
- Meat or vegetable broth
- Salt to taste
- ** For the Filling **
- 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) fresh ricotta
- 3 cups grated Parmigiano (about 1/3 pound, or 150 g)
- 1 pint (500 ml) milk
- Salt and pepper
- A rectangular pan, 10 by 12 inches, and 3 inches deep (25 by 35 by 6.5 cm)
Preparation:
Make a moderately thick béchamel sauce and let it cool. (See instructions if need be.)
Skin and crumble the sausages, and mince them with the prosciutto, pancetta, onion, carrot, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and just a little rosemary. Work the butter into the mixture, then sauté everything over a low flame, adding the wine a little bit at a time, and then broth; let all the liquid evaporate between additions. When done, the sauce will be rich, moderately browned, and not dry.
Mix the ricotta and a bit more than half the Parmigiano together, season with salt and pepper to taste, then beat some milk into the mixture, working it until it is creamy and light.
In the meantime a pot of bring lightly salted water to boil; sprinkle a tablespoon of oil into it and cook the lasagne until they're barely al dente, then run them under cool water and set them to drain, separated lest they stick to each other, on a cloth.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (210 C). Meanwhile, take your rectangular pan, and spread some béchamel sauce over the bottom, then a third of the lasagne (overlap the sheets of pasta slightly). Sprinkle the pasta with Parmigiano, then a third of the sausage sauce, and finally a third of the ricotta.
Lay down another layer of pasta, followed by ricotta and sausage sauce, and then put down a final layer of pasta, covering it with the remaining sausage sauce, followed by ricotta and béchamel sauce.
Bake the lasagne for 35-45 minutes; let the top brown lightly and then cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil if need be. Once they are done and removed from the oven, let them sit for five minutes before serving them.
This is tremendously rich, and will benefit from a fairly acidic red wine that will clear the palate between bites; though it has little to do with the South a Grignolino might work nicely. So would a Campanian red wine such as Mastroberardino's Aglianico d'Irpinia or Lacrima Cristi Rosso.
Yield: 8 servings lasagna with ricotta.
Skin and crumble the sausages, and mince them with the prosciutto, pancetta, onion, carrot, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and just a little rosemary. Work the butter into the mixture, then sauté everything over a low flame, adding the wine a little bit at a time, and then broth; let all the liquid evaporate between additions. When done, the sauce will be rich, moderately browned, and not dry.
Mix the ricotta and a bit more than half the Parmigiano together, season with salt and pepper to taste, then beat some milk into the mixture, working it until it is creamy and light.
In the meantime a pot of bring lightly salted water to boil; sprinkle a tablespoon of oil into it and cook the lasagne until they're barely al dente, then run them under cool water and set them to drain, separated lest they stick to each other, on a cloth.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (210 C). Meanwhile, take your rectangular pan, and spread some béchamel sauce over the bottom, then a third of the lasagne (overlap the sheets of pasta slightly). Sprinkle the pasta with Parmigiano, then a third of the sausage sauce, and finally a third of the ricotta.
Lay down another layer of pasta, followed by ricotta and sausage sauce, and then put down a final layer of pasta, covering it with the remaining sausage sauce, followed by ricotta and béchamel sauce.
Bake the lasagne for 35-45 minutes; let the top brown lightly and then cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil if need be. Once they are done and removed from the oven, let them sit for five minutes before serving them.
This is tremendously rich, and will benefit from a fairly acidic red wine that will clear the palate between bites; though it has little to do with the South a Grignolino might work nicely. So would a Campanian red wine such as Mastroberardino's Aglianico d'Irpinia or Lacrima Cristi Rosso.
Yield: 8 servings lasagna with ricotta.
