If You Build it They Will Come

That famous line from the movie Field of Dreams, could also be used for the building of tonight's dinner at the American Academy in Rome: spinach and artichoke lasagna.

Beginning with a silky smooth pasta dough; Jeremy rolls it out, on the pasta machine, until it is paper thin, then Chef Chris Behr instructs him on how to cut the dough to fit the lasagna dishes.  The pasta will not be boiled in water; it will be stores on sheet trays covered with towels until ready to build.

 

 Buffalo mozzarella is ground in the meat grinder, then mixed with Parmigiano to take away some of the whey that might otherwise seep into the lasagna layers---genius trick for using with pizza too. 

 

At the washing sink, Tom is taking care of the spinach

Sara and Leah take care of the artichokes, once they are peeled, and trimmed, they are thinly sliced, and sauteed with wild mint, parsley and a bit of garlic

 The artichokes are mixed with the spinach which was blanched and then sauteed with a bit of garlic, red pepper and olive oil.   Now it's time to build the lasagna, Chris has made the bechamel cream sauce, and added a bit of grated Parmigiano and Pecorino to the sauce. 

Leah and Jeremy working the night shift are building these gorgeous pasta dishes

 

 

 

 Once the lasagna has baked for 1 hour, it will need to rest for at least 45 minutes before being cut and served for dinner. 

Tonight's dinner was delicious and I loved watching the kitchen staff build it.  This is a new one for me, and I'll definitely be teaching it when I return to the US.  Dr. C. and I leave for Spello tomorrow morning for the weekend, and can't wait to see our famiglia Angelini at Enoteca Properzio.  We will be back on Monday, since this is a holiday weekend here in Italy.  Today was Rome's birthday and Monday is independence day.  Ciao for now.