lasagne estive

A lasagna for the Summer Season

Of course there a few other essential ingredients that you will need for this dish:

freshly made pasta sheets (although you could substitute with store bought dried pasta sheets)
ricotta (I use my own homemade ricotta, but of course a good quality bought ricotta is great too! Just ensure that it is firm and strained of excessive liquid)
freshly grated pecorino cheese (of course substitute here with parmigiano reggiano if you prefer! Pecorino – sheep cheese – is sharper in taste)
mozzarella or fior di latte cheese (good quality is best)

NOTES ON SOME INGREDIENTS:

Dried Pasta Sheets: If you are using dried pasta sheets instead, don’t precook the sheets (well you can, but it’s not necessary). You can simply lay the dried sheets of pasta in place where I layer with freshly blanched sheets of pasta.
Tomato Passata: I make my own tomato passata every summer which I preserve in bottles. However, there are many good quality tomato passata products available – just ensure to turn the bottle upside down and if the passata doesn’t move much and is thick (not thin & watery), then that is a good start. Otherwise, I highly recommend (especially through Summer) buying 1kg of Roma tomatoes and peeling them (insert a cross at bottom of each tomato and allow to sit in a large bowl of boiling water for at least 60 seconds. Carefully remove and place in another large bowl with icy cold water to remove skin) and then chopping each tomato into small cubes. Add peeled chopped tomatoes into a hot fry pan with a good dash of olive oil & good big pinch of sea salt, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer (stirring frequently) until the tomatoes have cooked down into a thick passata consistency.

Buon appetito!