Flavor – Is there pattern to stack lasagna

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I've been cooking lasagna at least twice a week, but I still haven't been able to come up with a flavor that makes me "happy".

Is there a particular way to stack lasagna for full flavor? Say:

first veggies, then sauce, then cheese, then protein, etc?

I'm asking this because when I'm cooking lasagna, its taste is pretty "plain" at best, I can taste the pasta and the sauce, but that's about it, I can never get to taste the other ingredients.

Best Answer

There are many, many ways to make lasagna, so there cannot be one single answer. You have to ask yourself, what is the goal of a good lasagna?

It is not to feature the individual components that make up the layers, but rather to have a cohesive, unified experience.

The order layering is more for visual effect than to control how the ingredients taste.

However, if the contribution of your other ingredients is not coming through, they may not be bold enough to stand up to the cheeses, pasta, and sauces (none of which are usually very bold) and still hold their own. Some of the common accent ingredients in lasgana commonly include:

  • Bolognese sauce, or another ragu type sauce, with a strong, meaty flavor from long cooking.
  • A spicy sausage or salumi

Also, make sure each component is properly and individually seasoned, to taste its best. Each component should also be treated properly to bring out its best flavor (long slow braising for ragu, good browning for sausage, and so on).

These ingredients are aggressively flavored, and while they shouldn't dominate the casserole, they should come through as part of the overall flavor.

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