Lasagna

Lasagna

My heritage is Italian. My children are half Italian, half Hungarian.  Any kind of ethnic cooking I prepared, I learned from my mom and mother-in-law.  They were both excellent cooks. 

My mother learned all of the Italian dishes from my father’s mother who immigrated from Italy.

Yes, every Sunday we had pasta with tomato sauce made with sausage and meatballs.  We called it “Sunday gravy”.

There is a little bit of controversary surrounding the word “gravy” to describe tomato sauce.  In the region my ancestors are from it’s called gravy because the base of the sauce is meat.  

On special occasions my mother would make lasagna. 

It was a detailed, time-consuming process. 

First, she would prepare the gravy. This entailed many steps.

Brown the Italian sweet pork sausage links. Take the links out of the pot, drain most of the grease, then sauté a few cloves of garlic. “Don’t burn the garlic!”

The meatballs are a process all on their own.  No exact measurements, though. I think she just knew by sight and feel what the right ratio of meat, (pork and beef), eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan, chopped parsley and minced garlic, was. 

Once the meatballs were formed, she would take a half of an onion, whole, not chopped, and cook the onion along with the meatballs in an iron skillet. 

She would stand over the meatballs, turning them when they “looked right”.  We used to tease her that she was “tending the meatballs.”

While the meatballs were browning, she would begin opening up cans of whole Italian tomatoes and tomato paste.  She would put the tomatoes into a blender along with fresh parsley. After blended she would add the tomatoes to the sauce pot that she had used to brown the sausage and garlic.

The tomatoes had to be cooked just right.  She’d bring them to a rolling boil until they started to foam, “look, she would say, when you see the foam, you can lower the temperature.”

She would let the sauce simmer for about an hour and then she would add the meat into the pot.

After the sauce with the meat cooked for another hour, it was time to assemble the lasagna,

She would prepare the ricotta mixture the same way she did the meatballs, no exact measurements.  Some parmesan cheese, an egg or two, salt pepper and the secret ingredient of a touch of crushed dried mint.

The lasagna noodles would be boiled until they were al dente.

Next, layer sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, parmesan cheese and smashed meatballs. Repeat for another two layers. 

Top with sauce and sprinkle parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 with tin foil cover.  After 20 minutes, take the tin foil off.  Let it cook more until it’s bubbling in the middle

You also you can do the knife test.

Insert a butter knife into the center, take it out and touch it to your tongue.  If it burns your mouth, it’s done 

I think the biggest secret my mother taught me was to let the lasagna settle out of the oven for at least 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. 

As a single person living alone, I don't cook much anymore.   I tend to stick to the same foods.  Preferably, meals that require little fuss.

But I do make lasagna on special occasions.  And I do make “from scratch” gravy.  

My process is a little more condensed. For instance, I buy already crushed tomatoes, so no need for the blender step.  

For the meatball mixture I use flavored panko breadcrumbs, so I don’t add any extra spices.  Therefore, no need to chop parsley or mince garlic. 

But I admit I do “tend” the meatballs. 

I also take the time to simmer the sauce for 2 hours.  

There are no short cuts for assembling the lasagna.

I may have simplified a few steps here and there, but taking the time still shows in the results. 

Family sitting around the table, content, patting their full bellies, “Delicious Mom”. 

And every time I make this dish, I think of my Mother, She taught me well.