Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I didn't know that there was a big dislike of ravioli. But I can understand why there would be as I am not a fan of ravioli.
Ravioli is too doughy. There's not enough filling or cheese for my taste, and the sauce does not penetrate the dough; it just sits on top of the doughy mass. Meh...
I much prefer the ratio of dough to filling to cheese to sauce in lasagna. Less dough allows the flavor of the filling, cheeses and sauce to come out. Plus, it's baked in sauce, so the sauce penetrates the dough thoroughly. To me, there's no contest between ravioli and lasagna.
While they may often have the same ingredients, ^^^^ This is the main reason. Couple this with the ability to alter the ratio of non pasta ingredients with fuller dispersion of said ingredients to permeate the more distributed pasta layer base, and it can be much different in overall taste, and hence, make Lasagna much more tasty and palatable than ravioli.
I also like spinach lasagna which my mom used to make and it was delicious. Ravioli are Italian 'Pierogi' and as someone mentioned about frying the Ravioli, Pierogi are tastiest (IMO) when fried, so I can see how that would enhance the flavor. Especially, if you have a few other judiciously chosen ingredients fried with them.
I am sure anyone who makes home made would have plenty of filler in the ravioli, but often the pre packaged product is more dough than anything: the same in restaurants. Of course, unless you are frequenting a good Italian restaurant the ravioli is generally pre packaged.
I used to know a guy who worked for a regional company which sold high end frozen foods. They sold plenty of frozen ravioli to expensive restaurants.
It sounds exactly like every lasagna I've ever made. Except the spinach.
Unfamiliar with lasagna made with white sauce*.
Granted, we don't eat a lot of lasagna but, like Mattie, when I make it, that's how. Gonna steal the spinach idea though. Luckily everyone here likes spinach so no need to pretend it's parsley.
*Perhaps I've misunderstood - are you talking about a white sauce or bechamel as part of the cheese layer, or in lieu of red sauce?
It wouldn't be lasagna without tomatoes! Layers of tomato based sauce, pasta and white sauce, with cheese on top. In lasagna you don't traditionally use bechamel, which is french and has onions, but a white sauce, which is just a 1:1 ratio of butter an flour, thinned with milk. I can undertstand why a busy person would find a no-effort replacement, especially since a white sauce takes some skill.
This intrigues me – I've never thought of putting anything other than parmesan into a beef lasagne before (well, OK, my sister's mother-in-law makes a fabulous lasagne topped with lots of lovely Scottish cheddar, but apart from that), so I do some research on Italian-American lasagne, and one name keeps recurring: Lidia Bastianich, a chef born in Istria, who emigrated to the States in the late 1950s.
Her recipe calls for layers of meat sauce, a ricotta and egg mixture, pasta and sliced mozzarella – it's incredibly rich, and quite a different dish to the simple flavours of the Angela Hartnett recipe. Even the tester who claims that a lasagne can "never have too much cheese" is put off by the grainy texture of the ricotta.
Gennaro Contaldo also uses layers of ricotta, mozzarella and egg, although in the case of his lasagne di carnevale, the last is in hard-boiled form, which makes things even weirder – and distinctly more rubbery. Unless you need to use up a few eggs, I'd advise confining them to the pasta here.
I'm guessing she'd been in the US a few generations? Actual Italians and fresh off the boat Italians use white sauce. Or could she have been in a hurry? It is time consuming to make two sauces, ricotta would be a quick cheat on a weeknight.
White Sauce (bechamel) Recipe - Taste.com.au
This recipe uses white sauce and bechamel interchangebly, but actual bechamel has onion and stuff, white sauce is just butter, flour and milk.
Hmmm. My Grandma came over from Naples when she was 7, her husband, my Grandpa, a little older than that, but from Calabria.
Grandma always used red sauce, (Sunday gravy with meatballs), ricotta, ground beef in her lasagna. Never saw a white sauce in her kitchen. I don't recall ravioli too often from Grandma, either, but my family had it occasionally when I was growing up. A special occasion meal.
Grandma always used red sauce, (Sunday gravy with meatballs)
I remember going to my great grandmother's house early on Sunday mornings for breakfast of meatballs and gravy on toast. MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
