Taleggio Lasagna

As you can see we couldn't even wait to photo this lasagna before we dug in.

Creamy, delicious, unusual and easy to make ahead -- the perfect dinner party dish. For this take on lasagna (based on an idea I spied in Bon Appetit) I made a quick mornay sauce with cubes of chopped taleggio cheese instead of the usual Gruyere. The Italian washed rind cheese gave the sauce extra creaminess with a bit of the cheese's signature tang. I love that trick of using creamy cheeses like brie or Epoisses as the finish to sauces and risottos. For the filling I sauteed a mix of pancetta and chopped prosciutto with finely sliced celery, garlie, plenty of shredded radicchio, fresh thyme, chopped onion and leek. Starting with the sauces I made layers with the noodles, filling, more sauce, and shredded parmesan cheese -- ending with the layer of filling and sauce on top of the casserole. The dish was sprinkled with bread crumbs and baked uncovered for 35 minutes at 375º. To serve I dressed shredded radicchio and fresh thyme leaves with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and garnished the warm lasagna with the crisp salad.

Delicious . . . simply delicious.