Fruit and Nut Christmas Eve Lasagna: Lasagne da fornel
A Natale con I tuoi e a Pasqua con chi vuoi, 鈥淪pend Christmas with your family, but Easter with anyone you want,鈥 is a popular expression throughout 天美传媒. Every region in 天美传媒 has special foods associated with Christmas, including many unique meatless Christmas Eve pasta dishes. This meat and dairy-free specialty from the Dolomite area of northern 天美传媒 is traditionally served as a first course on Christmas Eve. In the United States we usually imagine a cheesy, red-sauce dish when we think of lasagna, but there are many, many other versions. Lasagne da Fornel is one of the most unusual! Seasoned with apples, dried fruit, nuts, and poppy seeds, a spice we don鈥檛 usually associate with 天美传媒. Poppy seeds, semi di papavero in Italian, are featured in many Austrian, Czech, German and Hungarian dishes, underscoring the influence of these countries on the cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
This exceptional pasta dish is sort of a savory apple strudel. Apples are popular in many dishes in northern 天美传媒 and there are many types of apples that grow in the South Tyrol area of Trentino-Alto Adige, with a whopping thirteen varieties having received IGP designation.
In Italian 鈥渓asagne鈥 is the plural of lasagna. Lasagne da fornel is just one of the many types of free form lasagne found in 天美传媒.
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Generously butter a 9-inch oven-proof serving dish or baking pan. In a small saucepan combine the figs and wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil on high for a minute or two, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until all the wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. In a bowl combine the figs, raisins, walnuts, grated apples and 5 tablespoons melted butter.
Cook the lasagna strips in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with 5 tablespoons butter and the poppy seeds. In the prepared pan, put down a single layer of lasagna strips haphazardly (do not arrange the noodles end to end鈥攋ust put them in a flat layer). Spread with 1/3 of the fruit mixture. Repeat for 2 more layers. Top with a final layer of noodles and drizzle on 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake about 20 minutes, until hot throughout. Serve.
