I've still got a box of leftover lasagna noodles, plus a ton of lasagna cheese that's been frozen for ages (still tastes good, as it turns out), so I decided to make a sort-of deconstructed lasagna. It rates as "sort-of" because there's no red sauce and no meat, and I turned the cheese into an Alfredo by adding cream and butter (it's dried parsley that you see sprinkled on top). Aside from the missing elements and other alterations, though, the dish was tasty, even if boiling the pasta was awkward because of its tendency to stick to itself. Later on, I added some red sauce, and that proved tasty, too.
I've always thought of the defining characteristics of lasagna as 1) layering, 2) baking in an oven. Meat is a common (and traditional) ingredient, but I've had lasagna without meat that I would still consider lasagna.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what the heck is "lasagna cheese"?
The cheese mixture that I stick in my lasagna. I'm not a big fan of going the roux/Mornay route.
DeleteAh, I see. I thought that maybe there was a separate "lasagna cheese" of which I was unaware.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you use in your cheese mixture? My father actually uses just cottage cheese, and it makes a pretty good lasagna. I'm more of a Bechamel guy myself, though.
This time around, I think my mixture included ricotta (smoothness), mozzarella (elasticity), and grated Parmesan (umami), plus herbs and seasonings.
ReplyDelete