Traditional Noodles for an Untraditional Lasagna
A new option for making lasagna has arrived from Italy. Faella, a family-owned company in Gragnano, near Naples, makes pastas in the traditional fashion, extruded through bronze dies and slowly air-dried before packaging. It produces wide strips of dried pasta for lasagna that are now available in the United States. Use the pasta strips (1 ½ by 10 inches), which require about 5 minutes parboiling then cooling on a countertop, for building a hearty vegetable lasagna. Layer it with well-seasoned slices of grilled eggplant, sautéed frying peppers and shiitake mushroom caps, a tier of blanched and shredded brussels sprouts, whole canned San Marzano tomatoes lightly crushed, the freshest ricotta you can find, and some shredded mozzarella to go on top. Bake and serve at once or set it aside for a quick reheat later.Lasagna Faella, $18.50 for 2.2 pounds, gustiamo.com.
