A classic vegetarian lasagne Le Marche - spinach and ricotta
The music, Float, is here
This is the second recipe in our series on four regional lasagne dishes. A vegetarian delight, this one! Most regions north of Rome have a version of a spinach and ricotta lasagne; this one I've taken from a family in Le Marche region, but it's basically the same throughout the north
In this series
INGREDIENTS
spinach
ricotta
parmesan
fontina - if you can't get that, something like Gouda would do nicely
fresh lasagne sheets
Béchamel
milk
plain flour
butter
nutmeg
pepper
Watch the video
METHOD
Cook the lasagne in boiling water for around 2 minutes, then put it in ice cold water to stop it cooking
Lay the sheets out on dish cloths and cover them to dry
Wash the spinach and pop it in a pan. Cover it and cook till it's wilted
Drain the spinach
Finely chop the spinach - after you allow it to cool a bit...
Break up some ricotta in a bowl, and add in the chopped spinach
Mix it thoroughly
Add a good 100-150g grated parmesan
A bit of salt and pepper and mix it all through
Béchamel
The general ratio is equal amounts butter and flour, and those two should each be 10% of the milk
So...
1 litre milk; 100g butter; 100g flour
Heat the milk, adding nutmeg and pepper. Whisk them through it
Do NOT let it boil!
Melt the butter, and add the flour, whisking it through thoroughly
It's important to incorporate ALL the flour into the roux (the paste you make with the butter and flour), otherwise you get a cooked four taste from the sauce - this is nowhere near as nice at it sounds...
Now... the classic French style is to gradually add the milk to the roux and keep whisking.
The classic Italian Béchamel procedure is to tip the roux into the milk and whisk it like mad - in a minute or two you have a thick sauce.
I prefer the Italian method.
If the sauce is too thin, make a little more roux in a pan and add it in, whisking as you go.
If the sauce is too thick, add milk - whisking as you go.
Lasagne - Assemble!!
A layer of Béchamel
Layer of pasta
Layer of...
Béchamel
Spinach and ricotta mix
Fontina (or whatever you are using) cubed
A sprinkling of parmesan
Layer 2
Béchamel-spinach&ricotta-fontina-parmesan
Layer 3
Béchamel-spinach&ricotta-fontina-parmesan
Layer 4
Béchamel-spinach&ricotta-fontina-parmesan
Layer 5 - top layer
Béchamel, fontina and a good coating of Parmesan
A dusting of nutmeg and pepper
35 minutes at 180ºC
Leave to stand for 15 minutes before portioning
The music, Float, is here