Radicchio Lasagna: A Sunday Comfort Dish That Warms the Belly and Heart…
Lasagna is a traditional dish that lends itself to endless variations. Today let’s prepare together one of my absolute favorites: lasagna with radicchio. This is a white variant, a tasty and refined alternative to the classic lasagna with meat sauce. In fact, radicchio is the main ingredient that, with its characteristic flavor, gives a note of freshness and lightness to the lasagna. That then call them only “with radicchio” is definitely reductive, because to give an extra touch of gluttony and flavor I chose to add also speck, gorgonzola and provolone. In short… even today, diet tomorrow!
Ingredients:
- 10 lasagna sheets
- 50g (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 50g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 550ml (2 1/4 cups) milk
- 8 slices speck (or prosciutto)
- 4 slices provola cheese (or provolone)
- 100g (1 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
- 200g (7 oz) sweet Gorgonzola cheese
- Ground nutmeg, to taste
How to prepare Radicchio Lasagna:
- First prepare the béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir with a whisk when the butter and flour mixture (roux) is golden and blended add a little milk and stir until the lumps are dissolved. Then add the remainder of the milk. Cook the béchamel over a gentle heat until it becomes creamy and finally add the nutmeg and set aside.
- Clean the radicchio and cut into strips, then cook over medium heat with oil and in a little salt. When the radicchio is cooked, add the béchamel sauce, keeping some aside.
- Assemble the lasagna, first dirtying the baking dish with some of the béchamel previously set aside and alternating layers of lasagna, béchamel with the radicchio, speck, provolone, parmesan and clumps of gorgonzola.
- Make 3 layers alternating pasta and sauce, and in the last layer cover the pasta with all the remaining béchamel sauce (both radicchio and plain) plenty of parmesan cheese and gorgonzola flakes.
- Bake the lasagna in a preheated ventilated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes. They are ready when a nice crust forms on the surface. Once cooked, let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.
Bon Appétit!
