I cooked a lasagna, yes again, for my digs mate and I last night. This time round it was creamier, stood up straight on the plate and tasted like a real Italian home cooked 'Ragu alla bolognese'.
But I couldn't help thinking how I could make it taste even better? How does top chef like Giorgio Locatelli make his traditional Italian lasagne? So here's what the food God says...
- It is a dish thats much misunderstood. The classic lasagne alla bolognese is meant to be a sturdy, quite dry pasta dish, with a little bit of meat sauce and bechamel sauce (cheese sauce).
- In a true lasagne all the elements come together as one.
- Commercial lasagne's bought in the supermarkets is not proper lasagne, but more like a version of shepherd's pie. This is because consumers expect to get good value for money.
- Its better to cook your lasagne the day before then put in the oven for a second serving. This will help to enhance the flavour.
- Its one of the easiest dishes to make to feed many mouths and you can do all the work in advance!
- Pasta is blanched before so as to not soak up too much moisture.
- If you want to make the dish more luxurious you can sprinkle some grated Parmesan over each layer of bechamel sauce, together with a few pieces of mozzarella and a couple of knobs of butter (maybe after a gym workout!)
Giorgio's ragu alla bolognese (meat sauce) ... some ideas
- Add to the meat sauce: some finely chopped carrot, finely chopped celery, a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary and sage tied together.
- Before cooking allow the meat to come to room temperature so that it will sear rather than boil when it goes to the pan.
- Once the meat is cooked, add a glug of good red wine and let it reduce right down to virtually nothing.
P.S. Thanks to the Watkins family for Giorgio Locatelli's beautiful cookbook!
Happy food. Happy photos. Happy life.
