Lidia’s lasagna

Lidia's Lasagne"

This dish is one that Mum would have been taught by her mother who in turn would have been taught by her mother and so on. They were all born and raised in a mountain village in southern Italy in the province of Salerno. Much of the cuisine there is what you might call "peasant" food; earthy, rich, a concoction of whatever ingredients they could muster. Today there is something luxurious about it all. I learned how to make it from watching her do it a thousand or more times.

This lasagne is "dry" and certainly lacks a béchamel sauce. It is more of a "cake". The critical difference that people first notice is the presence of salami and sliced egg. It is moist without being wet, the ragu is rich and smokey and the eating experience is one of great oral satisfaction; plenty to chew!

Traditionally, the meat would be a blend of whatever they could get; rabbit, pork, horse et al.  I make it now with a mixture of pork and beef mince, both of which should be as lean and of the highest possible quality.  Even better is beautiful beef shin. You don't want the meat to reduce in the way poor mince does, becoming a grainy mash. The sauce must have a solid structure.

For a large lasagne for several people use about 750g of each meat, two 750 ml jars of good passata, and some large fresh plum tomatoes (about six). You then need a big handful of basil for the sauce and another for the later construction of the lasagne. Salt, pepper (to taste but don't be meek) some oregano, sugar, cinnamon, some cayenne pepper, black olives, red wine, olive oil, onion, garlic and lots of time!

Gently cook the finely chopped onions in the olive oil and begin to add the meat, cooking it gently. Add the chopped garlic now to retain the strength of its flavour. Add the passata, chopped fresh tomatoes, a good glug of red wine, the oregano, seasoning and olives. Tear up the basil and chuck that in too. The cinnamon you need to take care with - just a pinch and a bigger pinch of cayenne. Sugar is often the missing secret ingredient of a good ragu so don't be afraid to put a good heap of it in - about one large tablespoon. Bring it all to the boil whilst stirring and then let it simmer slowly with the lid on. The longer you can do this the better. I generally give it about three to four hours but don't let it dry out; you want a good level of liquid that before stirring, sits about an inch above the meat. Break the shin down into lots of small chunks when it is tender enough. 

To put it all together you want nine eggs (hard boiled and sliced) and about a six inch length of good salami. The best is Cremona salami but if you can't find that, Napoli or Felino is good. Slice the salami to about 3mm thickness and then chop into semi circles.

Smear olive oil into the base of your roasting tin and put down your first layer of egg lasagne sheets. Then cover that sheet with a good helping of the ragu - not too much juice - then scatter the sliced egg and salami around on top of that, tear fresh basil and put that in too and then put your fresh mozzarella slices around as well, randomly but evenly spread. Then lay another sheet of pasta, gently pressing down the layer beneath. If a drizzle of sauce emerges at the edges, you have the right consistency of sauce! Then repeat the process to the top of the tin with the last layer of sauce, salami, mozzarella, egg and basil sitting open.   Then you put it in the oven, covered with foil, at 190 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. For the last ten minutes, take the foil off; you want it a bit crispy on the top.  

Note; I always prepare the lasagne when the sauce is hot. I leave it to stand for about ten minutes before putting it in the oven, allowing the pasta to soften - i don't pre-soak or wet the pasta either. You want the layers to be al dente.