Lasagna di Zia Giuseppina
Aunt Josephine’s Lasagna- This recipe holds a very special place in my heart because not only is it my absolute favorite lasagna recipe of all time, it was also my dad’s favorite and it was his Zia Giuseppina who made it. She would make a GIANT round pan of it and pack it up to enjoy in La Sila mountains of Calabria, Italy where it was much cooler than the scorching heat of Altomonte in Summer. We typically enjoyed this on August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, which is a holiday in Italy. You will find this recipe alot lighter that most lasagnas because it doesn’t have ricotta in it, the secret is a little bit of everything, so in each bite you get something different than last time.
- 500 gr Tabula Pasta Sheets (2 boxes)
- 36 ounces Pasta Sauce, we recommend Convivia Sicilian Cherry Tomato Sauce for this recipe
- ½ lb mortadella, cubed
- ¼ lb sopressata, tiny cubes
- ¼ lb prosciutto, tiny cubes
- ½ lb caciacavallo cheese, cubed
- 1 lb cups fresh mozzarella, cubed
- 4 ounces pecorino romano grated cheese
- 4 ounces parmigiano-reggiano grated cheese
- 5 hard boiled eggs, sliced and chopped
- 1 lb Altomonte’s tiny meatballs, cooked (find in freezer section)
Also, the Tabula pasta sheets are light, fluffy and a truly phenomenal, artisanal pasta from Italy. It just doesn’t get any better. You can, of course, make your own pasta sheets, but honestly, I don’t even bother anymore.
Notes: There is no need to cook the lasagna sheets.
- Spoon a ladle full of sauce on the bottom of a 13×9 deep dish lasagna pan. Layer lasagna noodles on bottom, followed by a handful of the mozzarella, caciacavallo, hard boiled egg, cubed meats, tiny meatballs, a ladle of sauce and grated cheese.
- Repeat for 4-5 layers or until you reach the top of the pan. You may break the noodles (it’s OK Nonna gives you her blessing) to fit the pan, you won’t be able to tell once it’s cooked anyway. End with a layer of just noodles and sauce. Important, since we didn’t cook the noodles you will want to make sure you have enough moisture available in the pan to cook them while baking. I fill the empty sauce bottles with about a ¼ cup of water in each to get every bit of tomato goodness out and then add this to the lasagna pan too. So be generous with sauce on the final topping.
- Cover with parchment paper and aluminum foil and bake covered in a preheated 350F degree oven for 1 hour. Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until all the wateriness evaporates and it looks ‘set’. Allow to cool for at least 30-40 minutes before cutting, this will allow the lasagna to further set and will give you nice slices. If you don’t wait for it to cool, your slices will just fall apart. Enjoy!
Notes: This can even be made the day before serving. Either assemble and bake the day before and re-heat before serving or assemble, refrigerate and bake 3 hours before you want to serve it.
