Week 7: Shhh Don't Tell

My great grandmother was born in Sicily, the island being punted by the great Italian boot.  It may seem like a coincidence but in reality mainland Italy tends to kick around the people of Sicily. Despite mainland Italy’s self-proclaimed superiority, Sicilians have been cooking as well, if not better than their northern counterparts.  Sicilians sport a different dialect and a different type of pie (see the Sicilian pizza slice) but like most Italian immigrants my Sicilian great grandmother brought a lasagna recipe from the homeland. Here’s the “secret” preparation of the Sicilian version of lasagna as described through the keen culinary eyes of my aunt - the recipient of a recipe passed down through three generations – just don’t tell any other Italians!

Sicilian Lasagna:

A “heavy,” “rich,” winter dish fit for an Italian Christmas Eve or Christmas Day feast; has also made its way to the Thanksgiving table although it’s a heavy precursor to the turkey. 

The noodles aren’t as important as the slow cooked tomato sauce; you can’t have a good pizza without good sauce. The same rule applies to lasagna.

Ricotta and homemade mozzarella is mixed with one egg to bind the mixture together, keeping the ricotta from being runny. Add a handful of romano cheese, freshly grounded pepper pieces of parsley as well.

To make the lasagna with a Sicilian flavor, meatballs must be made separately then mashed up and put into the sauce. The Sicilian tradition is apparently to make more work than is necessary.

Just adding the meatballs won’t satisfy our stomachs. Sausage must be browned and sliced up into tiny pieces to ensure this dish force you to add another notch on your holiday belt.

Layer it as follows: sauce, noodles, ricotta, sauce, noodle. At the top: more sauce and more mozzarella. Bake it in the oven for an hour.

Warning:

This dish is not for every Italian. (See my Uncle's appetite).