Pasta is almost sacred in Italy, and with its grandeur comes unspoken rules, like the cardinal sin of breaking spaghetti, or adding cream to carbonara. But one lasagna ingredient flies so far under the radar that most people wouldn’t even know they are veering from an authentic Italian recipe by omitting it.
Hidden within the bechamel sauce, one unexpected spice adds warmth, depth of flavour and the “wow factor” to authentic lasagne. Even though most families have their own recipe for the staple dish, this tip has made its way to the internet, with platforms and social media users sharing the intel. Nutmeg, a spice that usually comes out once a year at Christmas, transforms the bechamel into a fragrant yet subtle sauce.
The HuffPost wrote: “Italians traditionally use a lot more nutmeg than most Brits realise ― adding it to your lasagne’s bechamel could give it that ‘wow’ factor.”
Jamie Oliver has even got behind the nutmeg hype too, having shared a traditional family lasagne recipe on his website.
He sautees sliced leeks with oil, bay leaves, and salt and pepper for 30 minutes, before adding four tablespoons of plain flour to coat them.
The chef then gradually adds one litre of semi-skimmed milk, stirring continuously, before simmering it for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.
The nutmeg comes in at the end. He blitzes the sauce until its “smooth and silky”, before adding cheese and grating over half a nutmeg.
Food blogger Sarah Haas also loves using the spice, having shared on Simply Recipes that her homemade lasagne has a “one-ingredient upgrade”.
She wrote: “It always leaves my happy guests guessing and after everyone has sufficiently struggled to figure it out, I reveal my secret: My lasagna is delicious because I add nutmeg.”
