Carasau bread is the main ingredient in this recipe.
In this recipe, I have used it to make a lasagna using it instead of pasta dough.
It is a gift I received from a Sardinian client of my husband’s who, whenever he returns from Sardinia, always brings specialties from his region for us.
Lemons from his father’s garden, pecorino cheese, fregula.
In the last box, there was also Carasau bread.
Carasau bread is a very thin flatbread made of flour, semolina, water, salt and yeast. It can be found on the market in packages containing many rectangular or round ‘sheets’ of bread. Its main characteristic is that it is baked twice, which makes it very crispy.
Although burritos, if you don’t find carasau bread, can be a good alternative.
Ready to make your carasau bread lasagna?
Carasau bread and Quarantine cuisine.
The quarantine kitchen, as I have already written here introducing Pancotto Bread Soup recipe, makes you reflect.
I open the pantry doors to consume what I find to avoid going out and wasting food. But there is more.
The pantry seems a window through which I look at the world, reflecting on what is happening and trying to understand how things will change in the next future. A future where – I am sure – human health and food will be more and more connected.
While organizing the pantry, I order among my thoughts, trying to banish fears.
As children, we learn that fear feeds on darkness.
But then the light on the bedside table is enough to drive it away.
I don’t want to make it simple. All the same, fear often has feet of clay.
We will probably have to break out of the patterns of thought and behavior we have been using for some time. And have the patience to adapt to the needs of social distancing.
In the meantime, we have some time to think about the world of the future. How would we like it to be? We have the opportunity to change some things and the inhabitants of the world.
Carasau bread lasagna.
This recipe is a quicker, even cheaper version of the traditional lasagna made with egg noodles. But just as tasty.
In the oven, wrapped in layers of vegetables and béchamel sauce, the carasau turns into a thin crepe that keeps up with the texture of traditional lasagna.
It is a dish perfect for Sunday lunch and for the everyday table, easy to prepare and very satisfying.
I recommend preparing the carasau bread lasagne the day before and making the homemade béchamel sauce. It tastes completely different.
Even if you opt for a light béchamel sauce such as stracchino.
Light stracchino béchamel.
If you’re in a hurry or looking for a lighter alternative to the traditional béchamel, I recommend stracchino (but you can also use squacquerone or crescenza, both Italian soft cheese).
It is easy to make and does not need any cooking.
All you have to do is mix stracchino cheese, salt, pepper, oil, and milk to make it fluid.
Add nutmeg if you like.
Buona cucina, Monica
Cook with me.
Carasau bread lasagne can be filled in many ways. HERE is the recipe for lasagne with pumpkin, shallots, and provolone cheese.
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Carasau bread lasagna recipe
serves 4
rectangular mold 20×30 cm
List of Ingredients
carasau bread, about 250 g
300g Belgian endive
2 carrots
1 small yellow onion
300 g red radicchio
béchamel sauce, about 300g
100 g green beans
grated parmesan cheese to taste
salt, pepper, olive oil to taste
Stracchino béchamel sauce (you can also use traditional béchamel sauce)
500 g of stracchino
200 ml milk
salt, pepper, olive oil, nutmeg to taste
Method
Stracchino béchamel sauce:
In a bowl, season the stracchino with salt, pepper, and olive oil:
Add the milk and mix until you get a smooth cream-like béchamel.
If you like, add the scent of nutmeg. Store in the fridge.
Carasau Bread Lasagna.
Peel and finely chop the onion and brown it in a large pan with olive oil over a low flame. Cook for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and clean the carrots, green beans, and radicchio.
Remove the ends of the green beans and cut them into short tubes with a knife.
Chop the other vegetables finely and pour everything into the pan with the onion.
Add oil, a little water, one pinch of salt and cook over low heat until soft.
If necessary, add water during cooking.
Grease the bottom of the square or rectangular baking dish (20×30) with olive oil, not too much or too little. Then add a spoonful of béchamel sauce to firm up the first layer of bread.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, pour in water and a little oil.
Break the slices of carasau bread and dip each piece in the water for a minute.
Adjust the pieces so that they cover the bottom. Use the smaller ones to fill in the spaces to cover the whole base of the pan.
Add a layer of vegetables, cover with béchamel sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan, and top with more slightly softened carasau. Repeat until all the ingredients have been used up, making a lasagne of 4 layers.
Cover the last layer of carasau bread only with béchamel sauce, plenty of Parmigiano cheese, and a sprinkling of nutmeg.
Or cover the béchamel with thin slices of carrot arranged in a grid pattern.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes (190 degrees, static function).
Serve the lasagne piping hot.
The next day they are even better. Before serving, reheat in a hot oven covering the pan with aluminum foil.
