Lasagne: Bechamel or Ricotta?
I grew up with my mother's lasagne in which she used bechamel (besciamella!) sauce; then when I started cooking I noticed many more recipes with ricotta, and now I am more used to it. Which one do you use/like?
(I also know that a neighbour, famous for her lasagne, poured scalded milk on hers and let it sit overnight. That was her "secret").
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16 Comments:
When we make homemade pasta, we always use bechamel. It makes for a much more delicate dish.
Knitter at 4:25PM on 10/05/09
I use both. Layer of lasagna noodles; Layer of ground beef and sausage seasoned with s/p, garlic, rosemary; layer of bechamel seasoned with nutmeg; layer of noodles; layer of ricotta seasoned with s/p, eggs, finely grated parmesan, flat leaf parsley; layer of noodles; layer of spinach, mushrooms, onions, s/p, squeeze of lemon; layer of noodles. Homemade sauce and a combo of asiago and mozz on top. Delicate is not the word to describe this. I only make this about 4-5 times a year. It takes all day and is totally worth it. I try to make it a day ahead 'cause ya know Italian food always tastes better the next day!
finsbigfan at 4:47PM on 10/05/09
My mom always makes her lasagna with a mix of shredded mozzarella and cottage cheese, I do too. It makes for a much drier, dense lasagna.
GretchinF at 5:01PM on 10/05/09
I personally use bechemels for my Mousaka,
and I like ricotta in my vegetarian lasagnas.
In a non-vegetarian lasagna I just pile on extra mozza and pepperoni slices!
hungrychristel at 5:26PM on 10/05/09
@GretchinF. Oh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses cottage cheese. I like the tang, and I almost always have it on hand. I use cottage cheese in place of some of the feta in spanokapita too.
I don't precook my noodles, either, because my sauce is usually loose enough that i want the noodles to soak up a lot of liquid from it, and besides, it really cuts down on the work.
lemonfair at 5:30PM on 10/05/09
Ricotta; IMHO, the flour in bechamel makes it too pasty. My family always used a mix of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan with a little nutmeg.
MMinNYC at 5:37PM on 10/05/09
I'm a bechamel fan because the ricotta made in the US is not that great.
AnnieNT at 6:40PM on 10/05/09
I like ricotta for a hearty, meat and tomato-based lasagna, but prefer bechamel in veggie ones.
thehostess at 7:01PM on 10/05/09
I'm in agreement with the hostess. Ricotta, ground veal, and lots of asiago, and parm with my red sauce. Grilled veggies, fontina, parm and bechemal.
donnie at 7:22PM on 10/05/09
i think both have their place -- a bechamel maybe with a spinach or veggie lasagna.... or with pesto.... and ricotta with the standard red lasagna with or without meat. i'm not a fan or meat lasagna's but i know people love 'em. i also like goat cheese instead of ricotta.... with fresh tomato.
pooch at 10:18PM on 10/05/09
Besciamella is traditional for this Bolognese dish; the smooth, creamy texture suits silky, tender, hand-produced egg noodles.
Grittier texture of ricotta is less complementary, though it certainly is used in stuffed pastas made with egg-based sfoglia (pasta dough).
Substituting ricotta for a white sauce is an Italian-American practice, probably derived from the number of Southern Italian dishes which either mix or layer the fresh cheese with other ingredients including cooked, dried pasta (made with hard wheat and no eggs) before baking.
Eliz. at 10:44PM on 10/05/09
If given a choice between flour/butter/milk or cheese, I pick cheese.
WickedGoodDinner at 3:41PM on 10/06/09
Bechamelle (Besciamella) is the only alternative any Italian could consider, however it depends on what other filling you´re using.
For traditional lasagne ricotta would feel too pasty if mixed with the Bolognese sauce. Also (but I should stress that I´m a bit of an extremist, and Italian) I´d minimize the amount of cheese considering it is anyhow a meat dish.
However ricotta is fine with vegetarian (i.e. spinach, broccoli, courgettes) alternatives!
Sunna at 6:06AM on 10/08/09
I grew up on a red lasagne with Cottage cheese and Mozarella cheese. After I got married, I modified this a bit. I now puree the cottage cheese as the family is bothered by the texture. I also added some Parmesan cheese. My favorite addition is Butterkase cheese. It's expensive but 4-8 oz added to a 9x13x2 pan of lasagne adds a wonderfully rich, buttery flavor. We have a restaurant near us called Mama Mia's that tops their lasagne with extra Mozarella cheese and we really like to do that also!
datagatherer at 12:34AM on 10/12/09
@Sunna -- really? The only alternative? Huh.
I'm not Italian, but I've eaten lasagna was in the homes several Italian families where ricotta was included. And I'm not talking about American-Italian recipes, I'm talking about the moms and grandmas who came to the US as adults who were presiding over their family recipes. Italy has a lot of regions with a lot of traditions. What's traditional in one region and in one home may not be the same as what's traditional in another. If someone's grandmother tells me in broken English that this is the way her mother made the recipe, I'm not going to doubt her.
dbcurrie at 2:33AM on 10/12/09
Ricotta...because thats what I like.
dmcavanagh at 4:57AM on 10/12/09