The charming, opera loving, university of Macerata in central Italy has two celebratory lasagna dishes for two very different occasions in this episode: vincigrassi and princigras.
Big thanks to sisters Letizia and Iginia Carducci from Osteria dei Fiori; the Piediripa Proloco; and the commune of Macerata for letting us climb the main tower. This is the recipe for princisgras given by Letizia:
Ingredients for 6 people:
200g diced prosciutto, 1 litre whole milk, 100g butter, 50g plain flour, 200g cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, olive oil as needed, 100g black truffle, 500g fresh pasta, grated Parmigiano cheese as needed
Method
Fry the diced ham with very little olive oil; melt 50 g of butter over a moderate heat, stir in 50g of flour, cook for a minute and then add 1 litre of milk, salt, pepper, grated nutmeg to make the béchamel sauce,
Arrange in a baking dish the sheets of fresh egg pasta, previously scalded in boiling salted water, drained and dried on a cloth, in layers with the prepared sauce, adding truffles and Parmesan cheese to make 5-8 layers (depending on the dish) then bake at 180 °C until it is bubbling and browned.