I Am a Chef - Grazia's Sicilian Lasagna

In 1998 Jay fulfilled one of my greatest hopes...he took me to Sicily, birthplace of my maternal grandparents and I left a piece of my heart there.  Over the years we returned 4 times, connecting with distant cousins, visiting various locations and learning the history. I have walked the same streets as my Grandmother in Cefalù

Cefalù

and my grandfather in Ferla.

Ferla 2004

In Sicily everything is "more!"  The vistas are more lovely, the people are more authentic, the flavors are more intense, the aromas are more pungent.  So, on one visit when a "prima cugina" of my mother, Grazia, invited us to have pranzo with her family and I bit into her lasagna, I was blown away by how delicious it was.  I had never had a lasagna like this and when I got my hands on a piece of paper, I attempted to write down the ingredients I could remember: noodles, soft cheese (maybe a mozzarella?), thin meat (maybe prosciutto?), hard boiled eggs, peas, bechamel sauce, broken up tomato, greens.  When I returned home, I decided that before I made it I would send her an email through her son and ask for her recipe.  So, in my faltering Italian I explained the items I remembered and asked if he could send me his mother's recipe.  He wrote back.  Put this: noodles, soft cheese (maybe a mozzarella?), thin meat (maybe prosciutto?), hard boiled eggs, peas, bechamel sauce, broken up tomato, greens.

Lesson number one...Sicilian cooks do not write out exact measurements.  In fact in some old cookbooks I have seen an ingredient written like this:  grated cheese q.b.  I hunted furiously to find the meaning of the abbreviation "q.b."...it means "quanto basta" which translates to mean..."when it is enough."  Cooking is done by feel and by the collective memory of a people or a family.

Sicilian Lasagna

So I have continued to prepare this recipe from my memory of our pranza which means each time it is a little different but each time it is savored and enjoyed by anyone who eats it.
Here is my recipe:

Grazia's Sicilian Lasagna
1 package of no boil noodles (I get mine from Trader Joe's)
4 cups of prepared bechamel sauce
prosciutto q.b. - thinly sliced and torn into small pieces.
1 pound of mozzarella cheese shredded
frozen peas q.b. (usually about 1 1/2 cups thawed)
4 hardboiled eggs, thinly sliced
some frozen chopped spinach q.b. (maybe 1 1/2 cups)
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes drained
grated cheese q.b. (like Romano, Pecorino, Parmagiano)
salt and pepper
butter

Now you just layer everything, beginning with a thin film of bechamel sauce ladled over a buttered 9 X 13 baking pan. then...
layers of noodles with the various ingredients putting them in any order you want.  I usually do a layer of prosciutto, eggs and peas, followed by a layer of spinach and tomatoes, followed by another layer of prosciutto, eggs and peas etc. making at least 4 layers. 
Each layer is covered generously with bechamel sauce because the noodles will absorb the liquid, and has some shredded mozzarella on it to help it all stick together. Season the layers as you go.
End with a last layer of noodles, cover with bechamel sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmagiano cheese and dot with butter.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the lasagna is cooked though and is bubbling and golden.
Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

This is a very forgiving recipe.  You can really layer anything you want in it.  I have used roasted red peppers, basil leaves, sauteed mushrooms, added some pesto the bechamel sauce.  It is always wonderful, light and tasty.

Grazie, Grazia!