Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [106]
11. Bake on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven until a light, golden crust forms on top. It should take between 10 and 15 minutes. If after the first few minutes you don’t see any sign of a crust beginning to form, turn up the thermostat another 50° to 75°. Do not bake longer than 15 minutes altogether.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to settle for about 10 minutes, then serve at table directly from the pan, with grated Parmesan on the side.
Ahead-of-time note The lasagne may be completed up to 2 days in advance up to this point. Refrigerate under tightly sealing plastic wrap.
Lasagne with Artichokes
For 6 servings
4 to 5 medium artichokes
½ lemon
Salt
3 tablespoons butter plus more butter for greasing and dotting a 9- by 12-inch bake-and-serve lasagne pan, no less than 2½ inches high
Béchamel Sauce, using 2 cups milk, 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt
Homemade yellow pasta dough, made by the machine method, OR by the hand-rolled method, using 3 large eggs and approximately 1⅔ cups unbleached flour
⅔ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1. Trim the artichokes of all their tough parts. As you work, rub the cut artichokes with the lemon to keep them from turning black.
2. Cut each trimmed artichoke lengthwise into 4 equal sections. Remove the soft, curling leaves with prickly tips at the base, and cut away the fuzzy “choke” beneath them. Cut the artichoke sections lengthwise into the thinnest possible slices, and put them in a bowl with water mixed with the juice of the half lemon.
3. Drain the artichokes and rinse thoroughly in fresh water, then put them into a sauté pan with salt, the 3 tablespoons of butter and enough water to cover, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook at a gentle, but steady simmer until all the water has bubbled away and the artichokes have become lightly browned. Prod the artichokes with a fork. If not fully tender, add a little water and continue cooking a while longer, letting all the water evaporate. When the artichokes are done, turn the entire contents of the pan out into a bowl, and set aside.
4. Make the béchamel, keeping it at medium density, like thick cream. Set aside 4 or 5 tablespoons of it, and combine the rest with the artichokes in the bowl.
5. Make yellow pasta dough either by the machine method, or by the hand-rolled method. Following the instructions in the recipe for green lasagne, cut the dough into lasagne strips, parboil them, and spread them out to dry on cloth towels.
6. Preheat oven to 400°.
7. Thickly smear the bottom of the lasagne pan with butter and a little bit of béchamel. Line the bottom with a single layer of pasta strips, cutting them to fit the pan, edge to edge, allowing no more than ¼ inch for overlapping.
8. Over the pasta spread a thin, even coating of the artichoke and béchamel mixture, and top with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan. Cover with another pasta layer, cutting it to fit as you did before; use the trimmings of pasta dough to fill in gaps, if necessary. Continue to alternate layers of pasta with coatings of béchamel and artichoke, always sprinkling with cheese before covering with a new layer of dough. Do not build up fewer than 6 layers of pasta.
9. Over the top layer spread the 4 or 5 tablespoons of béchamel you had set aside. Dot with butter, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan.
10. Bake on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven until a light, golden crust forms on top. It should take between 10 and 15 minutes. If after the first few minutes you don’t see any sign of a crust beginning to form, turn up the thermostat another 50° to 75°. Do not bake longer than 15 minutes altogether.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to settle for about 10 minutes, then serve at table directly from the pan, with grated Parmesan