A friend who has lived in Tuscany directed me to this recipe for an authentic Tuscan lasagna. I've made it and my family loved it... no ricotta cheese (bechamel sauce), a mix of meats, and very little tomato.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/33178/gi...n-lasagna.html

It takes a while to make this, but you'll have a huge pan of lasagna... enough for several meals.

Kathy

And here's me wondering how on earth you can make lasagne WITHOUT a bechamel sauce.

I think the culinarily 'educated' Aaron is failing to appreciate that, even if bechamel is a french word, much of what we consider french cuisine has italian roots. Just read up some time about Catherine and Maria de Medici, the Italian Queens of France who brought Florentine cooks to the french court and changed french cuisine forever.

Right, in a bid to settle this, I have consulted The Bible of italian cookery, the Silver Spoon (when I call it The Bible I'm not kidding, it's 1300 pages long and is apparently a common wedding gift for italian couples, everyone should have a copy).

The book lists a few derivations of lasagne but two stand out: Lasagne Bolognese and Italian Neapolitana, the former using bechamel sauce and the latter just layers of mozarella and parmesan. This wold make sense as northern italian cuisine often features butter, cream etc, whereas southern italian it's ALL about the olive oil and vegetables. There also doesn't seem to be any one region that can lay true claim to its origins, it seems to be one of those dishes that varies up and down the country (there's even a recipe for a pasta and cream sauce layered dish called 'lasan' in the world's oldest surviving cookbook, which happens to be english).

This would also explain why American lasagne doesn't often feature bechamel, as american-italian food is heavily influenced by italian immigrants from the south.

There, sorted. What do I win?

Ackislander: Yes, anyone can use any screen name, and this probably isn't one of the 'famous' Aaron Browns. But by any chance did you confuse Aaron Brown w/ <i>Alton</i> Brown?

(One Aaron B. is a newsman, another an NFL player; Alton B. is a TV food personality)

what kate said.

the main difference that i have found in the sort of lasagne that i find in restaurants in the UK and make myself, and that made in Italy, is that the italian version is generally much firmer and stiffer, which is what my sardinian friend says it should be like.

personally I prefer my sloppy version, complete with nutmeggy béchamel.

I'm pretty sure it was Aaron Brown of the NFL; those guys know lasagna.

I am sorry to say that a bit of the expertise shown on this thread is almost laughable; in fact, I would laugh if a few experts didn't sound like such blowhards.

C'mon people, it's lasagna for god's sake. Layer it up and bake it. Then eat it.

Kate, I'm afraid that exceptions can be found to your sorting.

<<educated culinary opinion...>>

I'll match your educated culinary opinion, especially knowledge of French and Italian cuisine, any day.

There is most definitely béchamel sauce (balsamella) in a classic lasagna bolognese. Ever heard of Marcella Hazan? Nuff said.