There is one unconventional ingredient you can add to lasagne to vastly improve its flavour and it might be the last thing you expect. Lasagne is a favourite dish for many Brits. Having originated in Italy, it quickly became a staple meal in British homes and on UK pub menus. The layerd dish, made up of ground beef, pasta sheets, vegetables and white lasagne sauce is a serious crowd pleaser. However, there is one extra ingredient you can add to make it even better.
A number of cooks have shared this hack online and say they swear by it every time they make lasagne. Lindsay Funston, who is the Editor in Chief at The Kitchen, and Tasting Table author Lauren Rothman are among the people who say they always include cinnamon in their lasagne, both admitting that it is an ingredient that might seem counter-intuative to most home cooks but one that they seriously suggest trying.
Rothman says that it is the perfect addition for the ricotta cheese filling of your lasagne. Meanwhile, Funston says that it was the secret ingredient that her late Italian grandmother always added to her lasagne.
It seems as though a few other people have caught onto this hack as well. One Reddit user, answering someone who asked what they can do to make their lasagne stand out, suggested adding two teaspoons of cinnamon.
Another shared: “My Italian granny made lasagne with a layer of ricotta as opposed to bechamel. So meat sauce (bolognese if you’re fancy but we just added ground beef or pork to regular red sauce), noodles, ricotta, moz, repeat. To the ricotta she added an egg and a shake or two of cinnamon. Sounds weird but its the best lasagne I’ve ever had.”
Others have said that they add nutmeg to the ricotta which also gives it an extra dash of flavour.
Adding ground cinnamon to lasagne was apparently the secret hack of legendary Italian-American singer Tony Bennett’s mother. “Her lasagna recipe has simple, basic ingredients: ground beef, onions, spicy Italian sausage, garlic, canned plum tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, fresh basil, cinnamon (not so basic), lasagna noodles, eggs, fresh ricotta and Pecorino Romano cheese,” said wrote Donna John from 30 Seconds Food.
