There are
probably few meals (and I’m only guessing here) that take on the name of the
food they are made from, but this is the case with lasagne – the word meaning
both sheets of flat pasta, and what is very often a stodgy concoction of meat and tomato interspersed, layer by soggy layer,
between them. Lasagne is the stuff of Home Economics lessons in schools – a very
simple dish but, like cake-making, an enjoyable process of building up layers
of food which, without any effort at all, melt into each other to make a
satisfying whole. Yet lasagne is often a disappointment. The cook eagerly adds
in too many layers of pasta or grates a mountain of cheese on top (this is the
fault of cookery writers who always insist we use enormous blocks of the stuff when
really just a sprinkling of parmesan will do). I have made lasagne numerous
times, but rarely really enjoyed the outcome. Yes, it looks wonderful when it
comes out of the oven – look at all that delicious cheese bubbling away! - but the dish rarely tastes as good as it
looks. The same goes for lasagnes in restaurants. Generally a lasagne must be
served with a pile of chips (I’m sure the Italians would not be happy about
this) or a big salad covered in dressing. One final dig: unlike cottage pie or
moussaka (themselves nearly always tasty even if the meat is cheap, and the veg
are just chosen blindly from the fridge), lasagne doesn’t keep for very long
and, unless eaten very quickly, tends to solidify and become inedible.
Despite all of the above, I always believe that lasagne will taste delicious so
I decided to try Hugh’s Kale and Mushroom version (River Cottage Veg). Kale and
mushrooms fried in butter take the place of the meat and, instead of using tins
of tomatoes, Hugh has devised a very tasty Béchamel sauce with peppercorns,
celery, onion, and a bay leaf. The layers are built up (with the obligatory
cheese on top) and the whole thing cooked in half an hour, though preparation
time was considerably longer. I was
expecting great things but, alas, the lasagne didn’t meet my expectations. The
main problem was the lasagne (here I’m referring to the type of pasta) which
hadn’t really cooked properly, perhaps because I hadn’t made enough sauce to
really soften the layers. However I’ve decided not to give in so easily and
have annotated the cookbook accordingly and made a note to try this recipe
again. As for traditional meat lasagne, well I think I have tried for long
enough and will probably call it quits!
