A new way with Lasagne (For me at least)

I visited Italy once. It was a small town just over the border from Austria. I couldn't tell you the name. I was 7 years old and remember that it seemed quaint and had lots of interesting things I wanted my parents to buy me, such as pretty Russian dolls and lacy clothes. We were there on a day trip from Austria and I think my parents were quite excited to try the food. We ordered from a restaurant and sat at a table outside, on the street, just as you would imagine. Being fairly young and only interested in what I knew, my mum ordered spaghetti Bolognese for me (or that town's version of this iconic meal). When it arrived, I was horrified. 

Through choking sobs I wailed that there was no way I was going to eat that. My parents were confused and probably embarrassed, what was wrong? I'll tell you what was wrong; there was a pat of butter on the top. This unfamiliar offending ingredient was not appetizing to a seven year old girl who only liked the merest scraping on her sandwiches, so there was no way I was going to eat it. Gently and patiently, my parents coaxed me to try it, showing me how to stir it into the meat sauce and spaghetti and it was the most incredible thing I had ever eaten. I still remember how different the butter made it taste. The whole thing was enriched and made more buttery and luscious, it was truly a wonderful revelation. Of course, I told my mum and dad I would do my best to force it down, not wanting them to know I knew I had been wrong.

That was my first and only time eating Italian food in Italy and although it was great, the experience wasn't strong enough for me to become an instant lover of Italian food. The North American love affair with Italian food is mind blowing. You only have to look at the advertisements for Buitoni products here to see how much it is revered. 

Maybe it's the passion, history and culture that Italy has, along with their unending love of food that inspires people so much, or maybe it's just that most of it tastes really good to the North American palate.  I've personally never understood it. An Italian restaurant would be my last choice, even when it's supposed to be the best pizza in North America. Too many bad meals of cloying, creamy sauces with little flavour, dry, tasteless risottos and average pizza have led me to believe the best Italian food is the meal you cook at home. Of course, I have had some good Italian meals from exciting restaurants, but have paid a pretty penny for the experience.

Lasagna is usually disappointing for me. I don't like the way the white bechamel sauce runs into the meat sauce and dilutes it's strong flavours. Also, I've never been able to make one that stands up proudly when cut with the layers distinctly obvious. Mine just falls into a heap, collapsing like the leaning tower of Pisa. This recipe, given to me by an Italian friend, guarantees success. It uses ricotta as the white layer, not a gloopy sauce, with lots of Parmesan and mozzarella stirred in. Perfect.

I used some mascapone in my lasagna, that thick, creamy, delectable dairy product probably most commonly used here in Tiramisu. I would never use this if I was trying to eat on the lower fat scale, don't look at the information if you want to enjoy it. But, for a low carb diet, two or three spoonfuls are perfectly acceptable. I had some remaining so made an improvised, deconstructed cheesecake tiramisu. 

Recipe: Lasagna

Meat sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely diced

1 bay leaf

1 tin plum tomatoes

1 beef stock cube or 1 tbsp beef stock paste or 1/2 cup beef stock

8 mushrooms, halved

1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1/4 cup boiling water for 20 minutes.

2 tbsp fresh oregano, minced

1 tsp salt

a few twists of freshly ground black pepper

6 pieces lasagna noodles

1lb ground beef
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp each of paprika and steak seasoning
2 tsp oil

white layer

1 cup ricotta

2 tbsp mascapone cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup grated Mozzarella (I used cave aged Gruyere)

black pepper

Make the meat sauce first

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy pan over medium heat, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaf, reduce the heat to low, stir well, cover and let the vegetables sweat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft. 

Add the tinned tomatoes, stock, mushrooms, drained porcini mushrooms, (keep the liquid), oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

Carefully pour about a teaspoon of the porcini liquid into the sauce, ensuring that you leave the grit behind.

Heat the 2 tsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and steak seasoning. Fry, stirring until the meat is brown and crispy. Add this, along with any juices from the pan into the sauce and stir well.

Reduce heat to low - medium, cover and cook for about 1 hour. keep checking and stirring, you want it to get pretty thick. 

Heat the oven to 375oF.

Boil the lasagna noodles in a big pot of salted water as per instructions on the box and drain.

Mix the ricotta, mascapone and 3/4 of the cheeses together. Season with black pepper and a little salt if you need it.

When the sauce is ready, begin your assembly, start with a meat layer, lasagna, sauce and repeat depending on how much you have. Try to finish with a sauce layer and sprinkle some extra cheese on top for a nice, golden glow.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. 

Recipe : Deconstructed cheesecake

2 digestive biscuits, sealed in a bag and pounded with a rolling pin until they resemble breadcrumbs.
2 tbsp mascapone cheese mixed with 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp Kahlua

Layer half the biscuits in a bowl or glass, top with 1 tbsp of mascapone and 1 tsp cocoa powder and repeat. Pour the Kahlua over the top and let the whole thing sit for about an hour, covered in the fridge for the flavours to mingle together. (Waiting until the next day would be even better).