recipe: lasagne sottosopra

getting right down to it, lasagne, of all the dishes my mother cooked, was the one I loved the most. If it was the kind of occasion when she would say to me, what would I like? The answer was always lasagne. It was made in a massive orange coloured cast iron & enamel casserole with two solid handles & an indented lid for filling with water, & could be brought out for the purposes of feeding the masses. I’d rate this an heirloom, so much was it a fixture in our kitchen, so central the kitchen in our lives. Anyway, so lasagne is a special dish.

My recipe is not so far from that of the usual recipe, but as is always the case, where it does vary creates the significant difference. I make & roll my own pasta, like to add a layer of grilled aubergine here, sautéed mushrooms there, in the recipe below note the roast capsicum&tomato sauce, note the cloute & use of orange zest as seasoning…small touches matter

Ingredients: the mince

olive oil, onions&garlic, thyme

tomato puree, a splash of madeira

topside mince

method

The topside mince I used this week is browned with onions & garlic, thyme, in olive oil, tomato puree is added, stirred in & caramelised, madeira splashed in, pan deglazed, mince added, browned thoroughly, set aside

Ingredients: the tomato sauce

olive oil, onions, red capsicums, whole tomatoes

method

as with last week’s sauce, the same: roast everything off separately, onions peeled, capsicums peeled & deseeded, tomatoes in half & deseeded, then combine & whizz with the stick blender til smooth

ingredients: mornay sauce

butter&flour in equal quantities, milk

cloute –half an onion with a bay leaf studded into place with 3 whole cloves

(see picture in the fridaynightdinnerbox archives)

orange zest, grated cheese

method

make a roux with the butter&flour in the bottom of a pot on a medium heat; slowly add milk a little at a time forming first a paste then thinning further, making sure of NO LUMPS before adding more milk; add cloute & orange zest; simmer gently for 15mins; add cheese

arranging the lasagne, for mine I line my dish with leek leaves, softened in boiling water for a mo, then tossed with butter & red peppercorns, then lay down the layers: mince, tomato, pasta sheets (which I always think is better precooked & ready to go), cheese sauce, grated parmesan, repeated til the dish is almost too full. It goes into the oven on 180 for a good ¾ hrs, but you’ll need to check the top to make sure it doesn’t burn.

This week I also made a vegetarian version as a special request, layering in the same way aubergine, beans, mushrooms, spinach, adding feta to the layers too.

Lasagne is a dish that goes nicely with a simple salad on the side & some good crusty french bread. A glass of red wine to wash it down is almost essential. This week while getting into the lasagne groove, a bottle of ransoms 07 dark summit was the perfect way to fill my glass.