Loving lasagna
February 8, 2007 | 12:00am
Italy has always been known for fashion, exotic cars, soccer champions and, of course, fantastic cuisine. Many people find Italian food irresistible and I, like so many, fell in love with Italian delicacies such as ciabatta bread, tiramisu, risotto Milanese, and one of the all-time favorites, lasagna. So passionate was my thirst for knowledge and the pursuit of authentic lasagna that I traveled halfway around the world to Italy to actually learn how to cook this famous dish, and I am very happy to share the recipe with you.
Lasagna comes from the Emilia-Romagna region, which is located in the northern part of Italy. As narrated by chef John Nocita (who, by the way, is the director of the Italian Institute for Advance Culinary and Pastry Arts and is the head of the Italian Olympic culinary team) and chef Nicola Strattoti (nine-time gold medallist and part of the Italian Olympic culinary team), Emilia-Romagna is rich in fantastic ham and sausages, as well as milk, various cheeses and tomatoes, making the area a perfect location for some of the best ingredients in the place where lasagna was first created.
The lasagna or fresh, wide-ribbon pasta is used and it is boiled in water.
The thick red sauce is called ragu, a word derived from its northern neighbor France, which the French call ragout meaning stew: a combination of onions, carrots, beef, pork, and tomato.
Added to the ragu is a cream sauce that is topped with cheeses of your choice (the more cheese, the better).
Then, the process is repeated again forming different layers. Finally, the dish is baked in the oven or, as the Italians call it lasagna pasticciate.
Most Italians use fresh lasagna noodles, but here in the Philippines we usually buy our noodles in packages. Though the product claims that no cooking is needed, the noodles always tend to be too hard for the Filipino taste (not al dente, but rather "al tigas").
Boiling the pasta in water and salt can also prove to be a problem because often, the lasagna noodles deform in shape and are difficult to handle.
A revolutionary technique that I would like to share that is not taught by anyone in the world is the use of a steamer to soften the pasta to perfection. Using the same steamer used in cooking siomai and siopao, put two inches of water into the steamer pan. Let boil. Brush the bottom of the pan with olive oil and gently place the lasagna noodles on the greased pan. Put on top of boiling water. Cover with a lid and steam for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, open the lid and remove the pasta and let cool for five minutes. This method ensures that the noodles keep their shape and the lasagna will be soft when eaten.
For the red sauce, never brown the garlic, and always soften the onions as done in traditional Italian cooking. Let boil on high fire and then simmer on low fire.
For the cream sauce, always use a wire whisk to make the sauce smooth in texture. When the sauce is boiling, remove from the fire.
Use multiple cheeses for lasagna. Some suggestions include mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses.
My trip to Italy has brought a lot of enjoyment, as well as profound appreciation for authentic Italian cuisine, such as lasagna. Cooking has always brought me great pleasure and sharing some of these tips and recipes will hopefully bring happiness into your home.
Viva Italia, and Mabuhay Philippines!
12 precooked (steamed) lasagna sheets, 3 inches wide x 6 inches long
1/2 cup olive oil or any cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup white onion, diced
1 cup red and green bell peppers, diced
1 cup eggplant, diced
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup sliced fresh or canned button mushrooms, diced
1 tablespoon rock salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon peppercorns, coarsely ground
4 cups Parmesan spaghetti sauce (in doy pack)
1 200-gram bar Quickmelt or mozzarella cheese, sliced into eight pieces
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
Prepare a 9x13x2-inch ovenproof baking dish.
Put the oil in a three-quart-deep saucepan. Add onions and garlic and cook for two minutes. Add the remaining vegetables, and toss to coat with oil. Pour spaghetti sauce. Boil and simmer over a low fire, covered, for 10 minutes. Season with salt, sugar, and pepper.
Spoon 1/3 of the vegetable mixture onto the prepared pan. Lay six sheets of lasagna on top of the vegetable mixture. Spoon another third of the vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining lasagna sheets and the remaining vegetable mixture. Arrange the Quickmelt or mozzarella cheese on top. Dot with ricotta or cottage cheese. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 minutes.
9 precooked lasagna sheets (steamed), 3 inches wide x 6 inches long
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white onion, chopped
1 cup small fresh shrimps, peeled
1 cup canned tuna chunks, drained
1 cup sliced fresh or canned button mushrooms
1 cup cooked cauliflower or broccoli flowerets
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons rock salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups fresh milk
foil to cover pan
Prepare a two-quart rectangular baking dish.
Put butter in deep three-quart saucepan with the onions. Cook for two minutes. Add shrimps, tuna, mushrooms, broccoli, or cauliflower, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and nutmeg. Stir until shrimps turn pink.
Sprinkle flour and mix well. Pour milk and carefully mix until simmering. Turn off the fire.
Spoon a quarter of the seafood mixture into a prepared pan. Arrange three sheets of lasagna on top of the seafood mixture. Repeat layering the sauce and noodles until all have been used up. Top with remaining seafood mixture.
Cover with foil. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese on top if desired.
• Paparazzi, Edsa Shangri-La Hotel
This restaurant makes one of the best lasagnas. It also has great ambiance and good service.
• Grappas, second floor, Greenbelt 3, Makati
Its lasagna is also very good, cooked very well, and not dry. The pasta is also cooked properly.
• Italianni’s
The food, including the lasagna, is always consistent in taste, with a great cheese combination, and very good service.
• Greenwich Pizza
The cheese combination is very tasty and the price is excellent. The lasagna is definitely a good buy.
• Sicilian Pizza, 102B, ground floor, Millennium Place, Julia Vargas Ave. corner Meralco Ave.
A very simple lasagna, cooked very well, and very tasty while hot.
Visit www.sylviareynosogala.com.
Lasagna comes from the Emilia-Romagna region, which is located in the northern part of Italy. As narrated by chef John Nocita (who, by the way, is the director of the Italian Institute for Advance Culinary and Pastry Arts and is the head of the Italian Olympic culinary team) and chef Nicola Strattoti (nine-time gold medallist and part of the Italian Olympic culinary team), Emilia-Romagna is rich in fantastic ham and sausages, as well as milk, various cheeses and tomatoes, making the area a perfect location for some of the best ingredients in the place where lasagna was first created.
The lasagna or fresh, wide-ribbon pasta is used and it is boiled in water.
The thick red sauce is called ragu, a word derived from its northern neighbor France, which the French call ragout meaning stew: a combination of onions, carrots, beef, pork, and tomato.
Added to the ragu is a cream sauce that is topped with cheeses of your choice (the more cheese, the better).
Then, the process is repeated again forming different layers. Finally, the dish is baked in the oven or, as the Italians call it lasagna pasticciate.
Boiling the pasta in water and salt can also prove to be a problem because often, the lasagna noodles deform in shape and are difficult to handle.
A revolutionary technique that I would like to share that is not taught by anyone in the world is the use of a steamer to soften the pasta to perfection. Using the same steamer used in cooking siomai and siopao, put two inches of water into the steamer pan. Let boil. Brush the bottom of the pan with olive oil and gently place the lasagna noodles on the greased pan. Put on top of boiling water. Cover with a lid and steam for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, open the lid and remove the pasta and let cool for five minutes. This method ensures that the noodles keep their shape and the lasagna will be soft when eaten.
For the red sauce, never brown the garlic, and always soften the onions as done in traditional Italian cooking. Let boil on high fire and then simmer on low fire.
For the cream sauce, always use a wire whisk to make the sauce smooth in texture. When the sauce is boiling, remove from the fire.
Use multiple cheeses for lasagna. Some suggestions include mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses.
My trip to Italy has brought a lot of enjoyment, as well as profound appreciation for authentic Italian cuisine, such as lasagna. Cooking has always brought me great pleasure and sharing some of these tips and recipes will hopefully bring happiness into your home.
Viva Italia, and Mabuhay Philippines!
1/2 cup olive oil or any cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup white onion, diced
1 cup red and green bell peppers, diced
1 cup eggplant, diced
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup sliced fresh or canned button mushrooms, diced
1 tablespoon rock salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon peppercorns, coarsely ground
4 cups Parmesan spaghetti sauce (in doy pack)
1 200-gram bar Quickmelt or mozzarella cheese, sliced into eight pieces
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
Prepare a 9x13x2-inch ovenproof baking dish.
Put the oil in a three-quart-deep saucepan. Add onions and garlic and cook for two minutes. Add the remaining vegetables, and toss to coat with oil. Pour spaghetti sauce. Boil and simmer over a low fire, covered, for 10 minutes. Season with salt, sugar, and pepper.
Spoon 1/3 of the vegetable mixture onto the prepared pan. Lay six sheets of lasagna on top of the vegetable mixture. Spoon another third of the vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining lasagna sheets and the remaining vegetable mixture. Arrange the Quickmelt or mozzarella cheese on top. Dot with ricotta or cottage cheese. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 minutes.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white onion, chopped
1 cup small fresh shrimps, peeled
1 cup canned tuna chunks, drained
1 cup sliced fresh or canned button mushrooms
1 cup cooked cauliflower or broccoli flowerets
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons rock salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups fresh milk
foil to cover pan
Prepare a two-quart rectangular baking dish.
Put butter in deep three-quart saucepan with the onions. Cook for two minutes. Add shrimps, tuna, mushrooms, broccoli, or cauliflower, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and nutmeg. Stir until shrimps turn pink.
Sprinkle flour and mix well. Pour milk and carefully mix until simmering. Turn off the fire.
Spoon a quarter of the seafood mixture into a prepared pan. Arrange three sheets of lasagna on top of the seafood mixture. Repeat layering the sauce and noodles until all have been used up. Top with remaining seafood mixture.
Cover with foil. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese on top if desired.
This restaurant makes one of the best lasagnas. It also has great ambiance and good service.
• Grappas, second floor, Greenbelt 3, Makati
Its lasagna is also very good, cooked very well, and not dry. The pasta is also cooked properly.
• Italianni’s
The food, including the lasagna, is always consistent in taste, with a great cheese combination, and very good service.
• Greenwich Pizza
The cheese combination is very tasty and the price is excellent. The lasagna is definitely a good buy.
• Sicilian Pizza, 102B, ground floor, Millennium Place, Julia Vargas Ave. corner Meralco Ave.
A very simple lasagna, cooked very well, and very tasty while hot.
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