Lasagne alla Tedesca
For a kid who grew up with a large Italian family in Canada, food was everything. There were certain things you just never messed around with, such as, nonna’s lasagne recipe. When I met my wife a few years ago, to my shock and horror, she was doing unspeakable things to a dish that I had held so near and dear to my heart for the preceding 30 years. What is Hüttenkäse, and why is it offensively embedded within the lasagne? Where is the meat? With much trepidation and also bravery, I took my first bite of the dish she had spent the past hour and a half preparing for me. No matter the taste, I was not about to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I was mentally prepared for the worst. To my surprise, it was truly delicious. So much so that I incorporated it into my own cooking repertoire (thank you, Kira) and it made its way to the Arbitrattoria in 2023 to much acclaim. And here we are, ready to share it with the world. All it needed was a name. Thinking back to the very foreign sounding Hüttenkäse (before I could speak barely any German), for me it became a beautiful fusion of Italian and German cuisine and family, hence lasagne alla tedesca. Enjoy!
4
servings20
minutes25
minutes45
minutes1
hour30
minutesIngredients
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Oregano
Basil
Half an onion
1–2 1–2 cloves of garlic
500 g 500 fresh spinach
1 can 1 chopped tomatoes
3–4 3–4 fresh tomatoes
500 ml 500 tomato sauce
1 1 cube vegetable stock
400 g 400 cottage cheese (Hüttenkäse)
2 2 large, grated carrots
250 g 250 feta cheese
500 g 500 lasagne
250 ml 250 water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C.
- Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan and heat slowly. Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic, then fry both until golden brown.
- Wash and drain the spinach. Begin frying it in a large pan.
- Wash the tomatoes and chop them into small pieces. Add them to the pan.
- Crumble the vegetable stock cube into the pan. Add a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix everything well.
- Deglaze the pan with tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes.
- Combine the contents of the large pan with the onion and garlic mix into a large pot. Add 250 ml of water and simmer everything on medium heat.
- Wash and finely grate the carrots. Add them to the pan along with the cottage cheese (Hüttenkäse), and a splash of olive oil. Mix everything well and simmer on low heat.
- While simmering, it is time to prepare the lasagne.
- Place a thin layer of sauce at the bottom of the baking tray, followed by a layer of lasagne. Repeat this at least three times. Add the remaining sauce on top.
- Cut the feta cheese into long, thin strips, then place the feta in two rows at small intervals onto the top layer.
- Bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes.
- Let it rest for a few minutes when ready and enjoy with a nice glass of red wine.
Equipment
- Oven
- Large baking tray
- Large saucepan
- Large pot
- Grater
Notes
- Let it rest for a few minutes when ready and enjoy with a nice glass of red wine.