Top, Green Lasagne with Tomato Sauce & Fresh Ricotta;
bottom, Lasagne Bolognese.

green lasagne with tomato sauce
& fresh ricotta

serves 8–12

Legendary home cooks Margherita and Valeria Simili, twin sisters from Bologna, taught us the nuances of making pasta and lasagne. Their recipes are the model for ours. Don’t be hesitant to make sheets of fresh pasta for this noble layered dish; you need only take one bite of it to understand the difference between ordinary and sublime. If you’ve only had those clunky lasagne made with thick sheets of dried pasta, the tenderness of fresh pasta will be a revelation.

Cook the pasta, 1–2 sheets at a time, in a large pot of salted boiling water until tender, about 30 seconds. Carefully transfer the pasta to a bowl of ice water to cool. Lay the sheets of cooked pasta out on clean, damp kitchen towels in a single layer without touching. Cover with more damp kitchen towels.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a deep 9 × 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Cover the bottom with a layer of pasta, trimming the sheets to fit and patching, if necessary. Spread evenly with 1 cup of the tomato sauce, then sprinkle with ¼ cup of the parmigiano. Add another layer of pasta, cover with 1½ cups of the balsamella, dot with ½ cup of the ricotta, then sprinkle with more parmigiano. Repeat layers again. Finally, add another layer of pasta, cover it with the remaining tomato sauce, then spoonfuls of the balsamella and the parmigiano.

Bake the lasagne until it is bubbling around the edges and browned on top, about 15 minutes. Do not overcook. Let the lasagne rest for 10–15 minutes before serving.

[ you can find this recipe in Canal House Cooking Volume N° 7, La Dolce Vita ]