anybody know this recipie-Northern Italian

Im not Italian & I don't cook it much. My brothers wife once made this amazing lasagna from Northern Italy (where she's from) It was with a white sauce, not red. It had Ham & peas in it. I just loved it!!

Re: anybody know this recipie-Northern Italian

I would venture to say that it was a Bechamel sauce as this is common in Northern Italian dishes.

I found this recipe - sounds like what you described.

La besciamella - Béchamel or White Sauce
50 grams of butter

4 tablespoons of white flour

½ liter of milk or chicken broth (milk for vegetable pastas, half/half for meat and fish pastas)

50 grams of grated Parmesan cheese

Salt to taste

Grated nutmeg



Most recipes have you melt the butter, then add the flour, and then slowly whisk in the hot liquid. I find that unnecessarily laborious and too often end up with balls of flour. I never have a problem when I start with cold liquid, whisk in the flour, then heat it up slowly, whisking as it cooks. After a low boil, whisking continually, for about 5 minutes, it is usually ready. Remove it from the heat and add the butter and cheese and stir until they melt. Then add the salt and nutmeg to taste. To give you an idea of how much nutmeg you might use, I like a lot of nutmeg, which usually means about ½ a teaspoon.

Cream and Ham Sauce: Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a pot over a medium heat, then add fresh cream and let it evaporate a bit on a high heat for at least 5 minutes. Add diced cooked ham, the cooked Penne, grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook just a few minutes more, stirring continually. Adjust the amounts of cream and ham to suit your personal tastes and the amount of pasta the sauce is to cover.



Cream, Ham and Pea Sauce: Cook the sauce as described above. When you add the cooked Penne, add cooked peas to the sauce as well.

Re: anybody know this recipie-Northern Italian

You can use a bechamel sauce. I believe that is derived from northern italy. I like mario batalis recipe.

5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.