Monday, February 18, 2008

Lasagne that does what it says on the packet

My latest New Statesman column concerns my liberating discovery that it is possible to cook non-pre-cook lasagne without pre-cooking it. As I say in the column, and as I wrote here, I used to find that the only way to get this product to soften consistently, and to prevent it from absorbing most of the liquid in the sauces, was to give it an initial blanching. Yotam Ottolenghi's potato lasagne, described in this entry, taught me another way.

Here is a recipe for a more conventional lasagne. Once you have assembled the ingredients, cover the dish with foil and put it into the oven at gas mark 4/180C; after 30 minutes, turn down the dial to 2/150C. After another 30 minutes, remove the foil, scatter parmesan on top, and cook at gas mark 6/200C for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is browned.

No more entries this week. Back next Monday.

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