Pasta Grannies - Lasagna Competition.

[powerplantop]

My thoughts on ricotta in lasagna: I just do not see why its there. to me it does not bring anything to the party. Its not bad but its not good, certainly not a special flavor. To me its just filler to hold the egg.

 

[GotGarlic]

My thoughts on ricotta in lasagna: I just do not see why its there. to me it does not bring anything to the party. Its not bad but its not good, certainly not a special flavor. To me its just filler to hold the egg.

The creamy texture is a foil for the heaviness of the overall dish.

 

[CharlieD]

My thoughts on ricotta in lasagna: I just do not see why its there. to me it does not bring anything to the party. Its not bad but its not good, certainly not a special flavor. To me its just filler to hold the egg.

What would you suggest then for vegetarian lasagna?

 

[taxlady]

What would you suggest then for vegetarian lasagna?

When I was a vegetarian, I often put sautéed eggplant slices. I usually made a meat substitute for the ground beef. I would put cooked beans through the meat grinder, using the coarse blade. Then I would fry that up with chopped onion. It works well, both flavour and texture-wise. Sometimes I just put whole, cooked chick peas.

 

[GotGarlic]

What would you suggest then for vegetarian lasagna?

Most vegetarians eat cheese.

 

[Addie]

My thoughts on ricotta in lasagna: I just do not see why its there. to me it does not bring anything to the party. Its not bad but its not good, certainly not a special flavor. To me its just filler to hold the egg.

Italians never waste even a mouthful. They can get more products from milk, than we can never imagine.

 

[blissful]

Italians never waste even a mouthful. They can get more products from milk, than we can never imagine.

There are 2,500 different kinds of cheese made from cows/sheep/goats/other types of milk.
Italy has 1.8 million cows.
Half of the states in the US, have more cows than italy.


To me it makes total sense that some people don't like ricotta. Whether I like it depends on if all the milk fat has been removed from the milk before using it. It depends on if salt is added. Ricotta curds without salt taste like mush, almost tasteless except for a little sour taste.


In the different kinds of cheeses, some cheeses are made with cultures, aging, and they have a certain different taste (like the difference between vinegar pickles and fermented pickles). Ricotta is made with acid, vinegar, citric acid, lemon juice, and the taste is more sour and a different kind of sour than the cheeses made with cultures and aged.


Most ricotta is made with the leftover whey from cheese making, it is a waste product with nutritional value. The same for whey which is dried and then used in its powdered form for protein drinks with whey proteins.


I LIKE ricotta but not in lasagna. I probably like it because I like more sour tastes than my husband. I like pickles and olives more than my husband does. I like sauerkraut more than my husband does. I like lemonade more than he does. He prefers fermented sauerkraut, fermented cheeses, fermented pickles and in all of them the salt needs to balance with the acid.


I like sweet tarts, he likes red licorice.



Vive La Difference!



I would have never thought of putting pesto in lasagna. I saw that and I thought, 'I've gotta try that!'

 

[di reston]

The film was fascinating! When I lived in England, I had a posting in Manchester at the Italian Consulate. We often had meals together at lunch time, and not only that we were frequently invitited to get-togethers and we 9 times out 10 made lasagne. I don't quite understand why they enjoyed my lasagne, but they did. Mine were traditional, with meat and bechamel, but then I learned to make meatless lasagne.

The ingredients, back then, were different.

When the exodus from Europe after the second world war drew hundreds and thousands of Italians to Europe and the USA, there was an influx in both countries - probably more than Europe - the immigrants both to Great Britain -set to work to make a new life.

They were amazed at the abundance of food, they were able to create dishes that were no longer 'poverty' dishes, and the opulance that faced all around them. No wonder they started creating dishes that were'nt based on poverty, but on plenty: hence the opulance of the Italo-American style of life and not only that, but also the style of American food. That's how I see it.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[blissful]

+1~~!!