A
dish measuring 30 by 35 by 6cm (12 by 9 by 2½ inches). A roasting tin wrapped in a double thickness of foil
serves well.
Day 1
Make the meat sauce: cook the onion in the oil in a
large, heavy saucepan until limp, adding garlic half way through. Remove to a
plate and set aside.
Crumble the
minced meat into the pan and toss with two wooden spoons over high heat for two
minutes to brown but not dry or harden the meat.
Return the
onions to the pan, along with the tomatoes and all their juice and everything
else except the sausages. Bring to the boil, then
simmer over the lowest possible heat to a thickened sauce, stirring from time
to time. Ideally this should take two to three hours!
Meanwhile,
brown the sausages in a frying pan, then slice into 1cm rounds and add to the
sauce to finish cooking. Taste the finished sauce and adjust the seasoning.
When the
sauce is done, cool, then store covered in the fridge.
Day 2
Make the Ricotta cheese mixture. Simply mix everything
together to a smooth, spreadable consistency.and
store covered in the fridge
Day 3
Boil the lasagne leaves: throw them into a large pan
of fast-boiling water, stir them round, then boil them
for exactly ten minutes at a speed just fast enough to keep them moving.
Drain, then save in cold water until needed.
Now build the lasagne! First lightly oil your dish.
Then make ‘layer one’ of the lasagne:
On the bottom
spread a thin layer of the meat sauce.
Cover this
with a neat, single layer of lasagne leaves
Spread a
third of the Ricotta cheese mixture on top.
Slice the
Mozzarella and scatter a third of the slices over the Ricotta.
Chop the hard
boiled eggs and scatter on a third along with a few of the black olives.
Dust on a
small third of the grated Parmesan.
Repeat this
layer twice more, saving plenty of mixture, especially of Parmesan, for the
third layer. Cover with foil and keep in a cool place until the next day.
Day 4
Put the lasagne in the oven, centre shelf, and cook at
gas 4, 180°C for 40 minutes. The top should be lightly golden brown here and
there.
Wait at least
ten minutes before cutting so the cheese can set, but the dish can sit for a
while in a cool oven and it also reheats and freezes well.
Serve with a
green salad (see page 93).
Invite some good friends for an all-Italian meal:
precede the lasagne by minestrone and follow with the classic Italian dessert
of ripe pears (buy well in advance) and Parmesano Reggiano.
Mafia
Lasagne
Mary Whiting, Entertaining Single-Handed,
ISBN 1-902110-01-3