Ciao! I hope you are all well. All is well here in the Veneto. Life proceeds as it has during this COVID-19 year. My motto continues to be "Roof over our heads. Food in the pantry. We've got our health. So we're good".
I hope you are, too.
A few days ago I shared photos on my Facebook page of the lasagne I had made my daughter for her birthday. I received numerous YUMS and PLEASE SHARE THE RECIPE. So I wrote the recipe down to share with all of you, too. Afterall, don't most of us have more than enough time on our hands to explore new tastes, and our skills in the kitchen? And, lasagne is/are Italian comfort food at its best. Let me know how yours comes out!
Marie’s
Radicchio and Pancetta Lasagne
Radicchio/Pancetta sauce
Ingredients:
7 oz. pancetta (extra thick sliced or slab of bacon) diced into small cubes
4-5 medium heads radicchio (preferably Chioggia) thinly sliced
Barilla Emiliane Lasagne (no-precooking)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parmegiano cheese to grate or grated
Italian Bechamel Sauce – see recipe below
Add a small amount of olive oil to a wide sauce pan. Add the diced pancetta, sauté until cooked but without browning. Add the sliced radicchio to the pan, mix well with the pancetta and continue to sauté. Cover, reduce the heat and cook until the radicchio is moist and wilted. Remove from heat while you make the Italian Bechamel sauce.
Italian Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients
· 3 Tbs. butter
· 3 heaping Tbs. all-purpose flour
· 1- liter whole milk, heated to a simmer
· A pinch of salt
· Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preparation
· In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly for a few minutes. Do not let the mixture brown. In a separate pan bring the milk to a slow simmer. Then slowly whisk the hot milk into the melted butter and flour, a little at a time to prevent lumping, and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking until the sauce thickens to a creamy consistency. Add the salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat, and fold in the cooked radicchio and pancetta. Blend together.
· Preheat oven at 200C° or 400F°
PREPARE THE LASAGNE
· Spread 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of a rectangular oven dish, and spread a thin layer of radicchio/pancetta/béchamel sauce. Cover with a layer of lasagne (no-precooking required). Cover the dry lasagne with the sauce, and repeat the layering process 3-4 times, alternating the liquid sauces with the dry lasagne and topping each liquid layer with an abundant sprinkling of Parmegiano cheese. Sprinkle the top liquid layer with a more generous amount of Parmesan to give the dish a golden brown color when baked.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top layer is golden brown.
Remove from the oven. Cover with aluminum foil and let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.
NOTE: I’ll leave adding salt to the radicchio/pancetta sauté to be determined by you. I do not add salt in this recipe other than to the Bechamel sauce, because the pancetta and parmigiano are salty enough for my taste.
Buon Appetito!
