Italy~how I love thee?

Let me eat the ways. I don’t know about everyone else but I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Italy this month. I hadn’t planned on taking any trips, but am thoroughly glad one came my way.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.


This was not my first time making pasta and I was very excited about using some spinach and making some beautiful noodles. My first big hurdle was the dough. (nice how I start out with a hurdle and don’t even get a chance to sprint ahead a few meters so I can leap effortless over the hurdle eh?) My dough was dry…bone dry. I had no idea how to rectify it, so I added another egg. That didn’t work…so I added….water. I know…I’m a sinner, but I had to get a dough that was kneadable not breakable. After a drizzle or two…possibly three, maybe more I had a dough that was somewhat workable. One of the things that I should have done was chop my spinach a lot finer.

As I was rolling the pasta it was tearing where there were pieces of spinach a bit larger than they should have been. They were absolutely beautiful though once I got them rolled out.

The Ragu was amazing! I loved the flavors but I admit I did alter the recipe. There was no veal in my Ragu as I have a personal veal policy. (yes…I am one of those) I did find it interesting that when I added the milk to the Ragu it curdled a smidge. It worked its way out after all the cooking though.

I made the Bechamel right before I layered the lasagne and it was a basic but good recipe and was the easiest part of the challenge. It did make a lot and I was able to make this really great pasta bake with portabellos and chicken with it. Anyway….this dish was so beautiful~ to the eye and to the palate.

My parents happened to be visiting so I had taste testers that would not feel bad about telling me the truth.

After I tasted it myself I didn’t really care if they liked it or not because that would mean more for me if they didn’t. But really…how could they not like it?! It was eaten and enjoyed.

- Amber