Lasagna for the holiday?

The rush of the holidays has in fact caught up with me, and I have been delinquent in writing. At some point, I will be writing about some of the people who were so important to me this year that I cannot forget to include them. But for now, to turn to the subject at hand.

We will be having a lasagna at our Xmas dinner. Or , rather, some of us will be. I had planned to serve Dungeness crab as the first course, which is all well and good, except for two friends who either cannot or will not eat seafood. So their first course will be lasagna, and Guy and I will eat the rest of it during the week. As I planned the lasagna (chanterelle mushroom), I remembered that, for many people, lasagna is viewed as an uphill challenge. Indeed, one year, a former friend and his partner invited Guy and I to a New Year's eve dinner, where he served a lasagna that he said had taken him the whole day to make. Well, it was good lasagna, but... honestly, lasagna should not take you more than a couple of hours to do. I believe that the reason why it seems to be such an uphill battle to people is because of what has been wrought upon lasagna. SO many things are put into it, it is frequently so heavy, and so rich, that after a bite or two you just want to give up. If you're making a classic ragu, with several kinds of meat, and a bechamel sauce, and a filling , to use for your lasagna, then of course it is going to take a long time.

But you shouldn't be doing that. I set the clock today, to see how long it took me to make my lasagna from scratch. Honestly, it took me under 30 minutes to put it into the oven, and then bake it for another 40. To be totally honest, I had cooked my mushrooms a few days ago, and that took some time off of the total, but that is probably about twenty minutes. In any event, there is no reason why you cannot make wonderful lasagna in less than an hour. I'm going to see if I can help you do it here.

I think of lasagne as either "white" or "red." This is a white one, and it uses a bechamel sauce. A "red" lasagna uses a tomato base. I cannot see any reason for using both in the same recipe. And bechamel sauce scares people. It shouldn't. Here's how to make enough bechamel for one big, or two small lasagne , which is what I did.

You need equal amounts of butter and flour. I used two tablespoons of each. And then two cups of whole milk. Working at your stove, in a big pot, melt the butter over low heat, and then add the flour, stirring and cooking the rawness out of it. It will take about five minutes. Slowly and gently heat the milk, and then pour it into the flour/butter mixture. It will bubble up and you should have a whisk ready for stirring them together. The mass will smooth out. Then lower your heat and let it cook for about five minutes. Salt is a necessity here, and you have to taste to your liking, eeping in mind what you're going to put into the lasagna (more on that below). I like putting saffron in it, and I did that here. You don't have to. After the sauce is made, collect your other ingredients. You will need ricotta - GOOD QUALITY RICOTTA. Don't ever use that stuff from the supermarket that ends with an O. You're courting disaster. Go to a good Italian market and get some good stuff. About a pound and a half. If you can only get two pounds, save the rest for yourself. It's good. And while you're there, get some good mozzarella too. A pound. Smoked mozzarella (scamorza), is what I used, but you can use regular stuff too. Salted please. Don't buy the "antipasto" quality stuff. It's a waste here. Tell the clerk what you're doing with it, and s/he'll sell you the right quality.

Now, you don't NEED anything else, but most people expect a vegetable of some kind or some meat in their lasagna. I used mushrooms, and I was generous. I had three pounds of glorious chanterelles, and I had cooked them, earlier, in just butter and olive oil, with some salt. Spinach is good too (here, I'll give you permission to use two packages of thawed, frozen spinach that you've squeezed the liquid out of. And you can use drained artichokes, or butternut squash, or anything you like.).

Preheat your oven to 400. I use fresh noodles for this, because it quickens things. Again, you can use dried. PLEASE DONT USE THE NO BOIL NOODLES. They taste ok, but the texture is terrible.

Okay, so you have all your stuff. Chop up the mozzarella into small pieces, put the ricotta into a bowl, and put your veggies in another one. Now you're set to start. Whether you make one big one or two small ones, smear a few tablespoons (no more than about three), over the bottom of your baking dish, which should be glass or ceramic, and never metal. Now the fun begins.

Cook the noodles in a lot of boiling salted water. If you're using dried noodles, then put them into the pot and cook them for HALF the time the box recommends, all at once. If I'm using fresh, I cook the noodles individually, by holding them by my fingertips in the water, for twenty seconds . Lay a noodle on top of the sauce base you've put down.

Now, you can have some fun. I like to use half of the vegetables for my first layer, mixed with a little bechamel. Spread that over the noodles, and then repeat the process with two more noodles. I follow that with a nice layer of ricotta, all by itself . I use, perhaps, two thirds of it. I cover this with more noodles, and then put a mix of the rest of the vegetables and half the mozzarella on top of that. Again, top with noodles. Finally, I take the rest of the ricotta and mix it with the mozzarella that is left, for the final layer. After I cover this, I pour the remaining bechamel over it, and bake at 400 for thirty, maybe forty minutes, until the beasts begin to brown and get crispy.

Did you notice what I didn't do? I did not put parmesan on before I baked the lasagne. I do this after they come out of the oven, if I do it at all. Parmesan burns when you cook it that long, and if it's going to burn, then why bother? So I sprinkle it over the lasagne when they are hot, and it just melts, gently. But in this case, since there is saffron in it, I leave the parmesan out.

Interestingly, I was talking about lasagna with one of the three young ones (Keith) on Saturday, and he told me that lasagna doesnt appeal to him, because he can't handle all that ricotta. Well, I had Keith in mind when I was making the things today, and I DID try to cut back, but I couldn't go further than a pound and a half. SORRY KEITH. But I'm gonna make a deal with you : there will be lasagna at the New Year's party. Try a little piece of it, okay?

This whole recipe probably sounds much more complicated than it is. I wish I could show you all how to do it, and maybe some day I will get that opportunity. Try it. If you shop well, and have good ingredients, you will do just fine.

Red lasagna is a slightly different recipe, and I will post something on a red lasagna, soon. For now, I wish you all a really wonderful, DELICIOUS stress free holiday. Just remember: the theme here is "friends, family , food." Friends and family first, the food comes last. Don't kill yourself over what you're doing. If you're fortunate enough to be with those you love (as I will be), the food becomes secondary.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL