The Most Luscious Lasagna

This is worlds away from a typical American lasagna--just a little tomato, and almost no cheese. But if you have the time and inclination, this lasagna will Knock Your Socks Off. For a fact.

The recipe comes from the Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, which is full of good things.

*Cynthia's Lasagna*

To make the tomato sauce:
Brown 6 strips of bacon, chopped.
When crisp, add 1 3/4 lb. ground round to pot and cook until browned.

Add:
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green peppers
2 finely chopped carrrots
1 c. finely chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
and saute for about 8 minutes.

Add:
1 c. white wine and cook until mostly evaporated.

Add:
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, and simmer for two hours. Sauce will dry up and become thick.

Stir in 1/2 c. cream,
2 t. salt and
1 t. pepper.

While all that is going on, cook:
1 pound lasagna noodles.

And make the bechamel sauce by:
melting 7 T. butter
then stirring in 7 T. flour, and stirring until mixture is smooth.
Slowly whisk in:
4 c. milk, and stir until bubbling and smooth. Don't burn it!
Take off heat and add:
1 t. salt
1 t. Cajun seasoning, and
1/2 t. nutmeg.

Okay, when you're ready to assemble the lasagna, Pam a 13 x 9 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350. Spoon 1 c. of the meat sauce into the dish, and top with a single layer fresh spinach leaves. Cover with a layer of noodles, then do a layer of bechamel, and sprinkle with part of 1 c. of Parmesan cheese. Keep repeating the layers of sauce, spinach, noodles, bechamel, cheese, until you've used up your ingredients--but make sure to end up with bechamel sauce and a last sprinkling of Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and keeping baking for 15 minutes, then let stand for 10 minutes. Serves about 12.

This is one of those wonderful recipes that takes the most ordinary ingredients, and with imagination and care, makes something really unusual and delicious.