You know you are loved when you visit a home in Calabria and are served a generous helping of homemade lasagna. For many Calabrians, lasagna is a special meal and in the busy world we live in today-yes, even here in Calabria-it is hard to find time to prepare this dish the way you should.
I remember being served lasagna by just about every new in-law I met and while some were decidedly better than others-gulp … I’ve discussed this!-they all had that special je ne sais quoi that made them uniquely Calabrian.
Over the last few years, my husband and I have worked diligently to perfect our Calabrian lasagna recipe and we’re gonna share it with you today.
Ingredients
(serves six)
>> 1 pound lasagna
>> 4 cups of tomato sauce
>> 1 cup of grated Pecorino cheese
>> 1/2 cup of cubed Provola cheese
>> 4 eggs, hard-boiled
>> 1/2 pound, Proscuitto cotto (cooked ham)
>> Homemade besciamella
>> Bolognese sauce
Directions
1. Prepare the bolognese and besciamella sauces and boil the eggs.
2. Heat the tomato sauce and add salt, as needed to give it flavor.
3. Grease your baking pan with butter and add a layer of tomato sauce.
4. Add a layer of lasagna, cover with besciamella, then bolognese.
5. Cover with half of the Pecorino.
6. Add another layer of lasagna-in the opposite direction from the first layer-then cover with the provola, ham and eggs.
7. Add the final layer of lasagna and cover it with besciamella, tomato sauce and the remaining Pecorino.
8. Bake on 400° for 30 minutes.
Buon appetito!
Have you ever had Calabrian lasagna? What did you think?
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Pacemaker returns after suffering heart problems
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) July 4, 2001 | Sarah Warren; The Gazette Gliding in after winning the Garden of the Gods 10-mile run last month, Maddy Tormoen had a winner’s grin. site boulder running company
The 39-year-old Pueblo resident flashed her smile, stark white against her sun-tanned skin on that hot Sunday morning. She grinned to everyone basking in the accomplishment of holding off the second- place winner, 15 years her junior.
But before Tormoen could finish her water, her stomach dropped. The people, red rocks and roadway begin to spin. She took a seat on the fold-out stairs of the medical trailer to catch her breath. She swallowed and shook her head, she stood up and sat back down, but nothing could stop the spin.
Medical personnel jumped out of the trailer and asked if she was all right. Tormoen shook her head, her brown pony tail whipping around.
“I don’t know,” Tormoen said.
Underneath her Boulder Running Company jersey, Tormoen’s heart was beating 294 beats per minute.
“That basically means I was dying,” Tormoen said. “I’m pretty sure I would have been dead if I hadn’t been at that race and gotten help.” As her family and friends looked on, she was carried into an ambulance and rushed to Memorial Hospital. Her father, who had traveled from Wisconsin to watch her run, was left to grab the medal that had almost cost his daughter her life.
At the hospital Tormoen learned she had a previously undiagnosed heart condition, something called Prolonged QT syndrome, a genetic problem that causes the heart to recover from a beat too slowly, causing confusion in the heart’s electrical system. Her condition is called ventricular tachycardia, which is caused by the Prolonged QT syndrome.
Tormoen knew something might have been wrong when she fainted twice, once in 1995 and again in 2000. With a history of heart problems in her family, Tormoen knew that even an avid runner like herself was at risk. But every heart test turned up nothing.
After last month’s race, Tormoen’s new doctor, Ducan Sellers, a Memorial Hospital electrophysiologist, performed several tests.
Sellers discovered Tormoen had a serious type of Prolonged QT syndrome. He was surprised that she was still alive. Most people who have it and are left untreated die by age 30.
“She’s at a high risk to have sudden death from this sort of thing,” Sellers said. “The vast majority of people in a similar condition die off before they get to this point.” Sellers prescribed medication and inserted a Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) into Tormoen’s chest. go to website boulder running company
“The ICD is like a pacemaker in that it has a wire on the inside of the heart,” Sellers said. “So if she goes into the fast rhythm then it will send an electrical shock straight across the heart to stop it.” When Tormoen was released four days after being admitted, Sellers said the words Tormoen hoped to hear: “You can race again, it’s safe.” Tormoen was ecstatic, but skeptical. “I was really in doubt, though, it really took me going out and realizing that I can run with that medication,” she said. “I’m so much safer to go out and run than I have been in the past 5 or 6 years. I just didn’t realize how unsafe that was.” Two weeks after being released Tormoen was running 60 miles her first week back.
“I have noticed I’m a little slower, though, but at least I’m running,” Tormoen said.
In fact, she’s so at ease she plans to run in Sunday’s Summer Roundup race, the 12K second leg of the Triple Crown of running in Colorado Springs.
“I’d like to be competitive, but I’m not going in with any expectations,” Tormoen said. “If I have a chance to place in the top few than I’m going to go for it.
“I wouldn’t do this if I knew I was in danger. I’m not that crazy.” – Sarah Warren may be reached at 636-0250 or gtsports@gazette.com RACE INFORMATION What: Summer Roundup Race, a 12K and the second leg of the Triple Crown of running Where: Pikes Peak Greenway Trail More Information: pikespeakmarathon.org, registration is still open Sarah Warren; The Gazette
I eagerly rushed over in hopes of SPICE. No spice. Looks sort of [tuscan] oops!
Boo! Sorry for the disappointment. I just reasked P about it and he said it is probably our only dish senza peppers!
.-= Judith in Umbria´s last blog ..Time for Spring Cleaning =-.
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This brings a big smile to my face. Yum.
Thanks! It is only a half smile for me, seeing as I’ll have to work out an extra hour a day this week to get it all off!
.-= nyc/caribbean ragazza´s last blog ..Flashback Friday – Easter Edition – Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens =-.
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YUMM just in time for easter. Let the eating begin!!!
Hear! Hear!
.-= regina´s last blog ..When in Rome, STRIKE as the Romans Do. =-.
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I had not heard before of this version with eggs and ham in it!! It looks like a calory rich dish to me, but maybe very tasty…:)
Oh yea, it is a “bumba!”
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Yummy! Thanks for this lasagna recipe and happy Easter!
Prego and you, too.
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Great new take on a classic, Cherrye. I think that would keep me going for weeks – that’s proper fill-your-boots food, that is.
I did a Katja lasagne the other day. Not in the least traditional (so far as I know), but yummy nonetheless. The ‘ragù’ was made up of slowly sweated zucchini and mushrooms, with artichoke hearts, sour cream and basil pesto stirred in at the last minute. Because the ragù itself was quite creamy, I didn’t bother with béchamel (I had a classically French cookery training, and can’t get used to calling it besciamella!), and instead just sprinkled a generous layer of mozzarella over the top, before popping it into the oven for 45 mins or so. Delicious, if I do say so myself …
Ooooh, sounds fabulous! I love vegetarian dishes like this. What did you use for sour cream?
.-= Katja | Driving Like a Maniac´s last blog ..On littering and lion tamers =-.
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My husband “courted” me with his version of a baked macaroni that has hard boiled eggs, pepperoni, swiss cheese, rigatoni, Parmesan cheese, his homemade pasta sauce all layered and baked. When I was too full to eat it at his house in CA, he wrapped it in layers of foil and sent it with me on the plane back to Arizona and it was still warm when I arrived. That was before 9/11, but the security couldn’t believe I was so lucky and my then beau had to make a cut in the foil to prove what I was carrying. Yummm
Ha! What a funny story.
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Hi Cherrye… had my share of Calabrian Lasagna the last couple of weeks. Yours looks delicious. I was pretty busy during my visit but will be back this summer, so maybe we can meet up for that drink then. Hope you and your family have a great Pasqua and Pasquetta!
Thanks, Joe. I hope you enjoyed this fabulous weather when you were here. Unbelievable!
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Oh yum! This looks a lot like some of the home lasagna I’ve had here in Campania, but everyone has their special little touches. Do you eat lasagna down there throughout the year? Maybe it’s just my boyfriend’s family, but we only get to eat it leading up to Carnevale. I miss it the rest of the year!
Yea, we eat it year-round, Laura. You can come down here and have some with us, if you want.
.-= Laura from Ciao Amalfi´s last blog ..A Magical Evening of Tango on the Amalfi Coast =-.
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Looks delicious! Do you have any particular tomato sauce you recommend using?
We use Santa Rosa. Do you know it?
.-= Katrina Foster´s last blog ..Where Next Wednesday: Peru =-.
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Hi, I just discovered your blog from Robin of My Melange. Hope to get to know you better!
Thanks for coming over, Jen.
.-= Jen Laceda´s last blog ..3 Tips for Shooting Portraits Like a Pro =-.
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[...] no, that’s not a typo for “lasagna.” We’ve already done that recipe … [...]
[...] can grab the recipe for Calabrian lasagna right [...]
I made this lasagna tonight and WOW! It was the best I have ever made or tasted! The entire family just loved it! I know it will be my lasagna recipe from now on! Thanks for sharing
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