LORENZO’S LASAGNA

Back in May, The Professor and I were invited to spend 12 days in the Tuscany region of Italy to shoot two hands-on Culinary Getaways for Jovial Foods; to say that it was an experience of a lifetime is an understatement. Gorgeous 18th Century Tuscan villa surrounded by majestic cypress trees, stone walls covered in roses, church bells peeling in the distance and access to some of the very best food I’ve ever eaten – it was memorable.

Days were divided into cooking classes and farm visits with enjoying gelato, cappuchinos and exploring the piazzas where townsfolk gather every afternoon; new friendships formed and we still keep in regular contact with one another. At the end of each week’s class, a feast is prepared by the participants to share what was learned, share favorite memories and toast one another’s successes; a playlist was gathered and in an upstairs ballroom, under the Tuscan moon, we danced – young, old, pregnant and everyone in between joined the party – as I said it was memorable.

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This lasagna was served at the feast and was made by Jovial’s head pasta-maker, Lorenzo; it’s very close to my own lasagna but there was something a little different that I couldn’t quite put my finger on – by the end of dinner, an entire pan of lasagna was completely empty – not even a spoonful. I became obsessed with that lasagna and asked for the recipe – yes, it too, was memorable!

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I made Lorenzo’s lasagna for a family party at the beginning of summer and let me just tell you, I’m the only one in the family who needs to be gluten-free; however, the lasagna was a big, big hit with everyone – they even asked to take leftovers home. This isn’t a sponsored post and Jovial did not ask me to write about them, the Culinary Getaways or their products – but I must tell you that Jovial is the only pasta we eat now; their olive oil and jarred tomatoes are organic and of the highest quality – those are stocked in our pantry as well. And their organic gluten-free cookies are handmade by artisan bakers in Venice – the fig-filled are my personal favorites but my younger sister loves the chocolate cream-filled. I could go on and on about the care and passion of the entire Jovial team – suffice it to say, these are the people I want making the food The Professor and I eat, pinky-swear.

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The folks at Jovial are hosting another Culinary Getaway beginning this weekend, September 7-14 and is being taught by our good friends Shauna and Danny of Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef; we won’t be joining them this time (sniff, sniff) and the class is sold out. However, there will be another Culinary Getaway offered in the Spring of 2014 – we highly recommend attending if you’re looking for a vacation that includes great food, great company in a fabulous setting!

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In the meantime, if lasagna is your thing (and seriously, who doesn’t love lasagna), please, please make this – you might even imagine yourself sitting in a marbled kitchen in a 18th-century Tuscan villa, sipping a glass of Chianti and laughing with good friends.

8 Comments

  1. You had me at gluten-free lasagne! The whole thing looks fantastic.

  2. Look at those layers!! This is fabulous.

  3. In step 1 of ragu, you state to spritz the noodles. Spritz with oil? water?

  4. Marnely Rodriguez-Murray

    This looks divine and what a gorgeous video! Hope to someday make it to a Jovial Foods getaway!

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