Ricotta Cheese for Lasagna

Unless I make a real lasagna in the next week I may start shooting people on the street. Help, anyone know who has it all the time. Not in Cosco last week. :slight_smile:

Are Fennal seeds out of the question?

Jason etc often have it. Wellman’s in Tienmu. The local spice brands have fennel seeds, either of those places you should find them.

CitySuper always has it in stock afaik (but it’s not cheap) and you can find fennel seeds here, but it might mean going to just about every import supermarket in Taipei and checking their spice collection.

If it’s that hard, I’m sure you can get them fennel seeds in wellman’s. the local brand with the squat fat bottles and tan caps.

Jason’s has it but is closed for remodeling right now. I’d try Wellman’s first, then City Super, Breeze and Far Eastern, or your local DIY baking supply store for ricotta. Worst case scenario is here.

Wellman’s should definitely have fennel if the others don’t. Reimer Seeds sells fennel seeds so you can grow your own fennel, just FYI. Just sayin’ :wink:

You put fennel in your lasagna? :astonished:

Anyway, all the big supermarkets seem to have it. My problem now is finding the lasagna pasta sheets. Tesco used to have them, but now they’re gone. Any ideas, apart from making your own?

I just improvise with the cheeses. Meat ragu (not out of a tin, obviously) and mushroom roux in the middle layers, and mozzarella/cheddar mix on top … easier to get. Probably not very authentic, but nice and gooey. Ricotta is more useful for sweet things, no?

CitySuper and the super market in Mitsukoshi has them (near the 101) and I’m fairly certain I’ve seen it from time to time in RT Mart as well.

For the flat lasagna noodle sheets, try Wellman’s, and probably G&G. Or see the threads on pasta machines if you want to try your own.

Thanks, guess I wasn’t looking hard enough in CitySuper! Who/where is “G&G”?

It’s a little imported foods and deli shop in Tienmu just NE of the Zhongshan N. Rd. and Tianmu E. Rd. intersection, in the first alley north of Tianmu E. Rd. and about 100 meters east of Zhongshan if I recall correctly.

[quote=“finley”]You put fennel in your lasagna? :astonished: …

and mozzarella/cheddar mix on top … easier to get. Probably not very authentic, [/quote]

No :slight_smile: A lot bigger eek than for fennel :slight_smile: But what the hell whatever tastes good

My grandma always made it that way. More of a southern italian thing perhaps. I made it last time with bechamel sauce, worth trying, was just as good and cheaper and less hassle.

Just so everyone knows, their is never a reason to purchase Ricotta Cheese at the prices they want for it in Taipei. To begin with my Italian Grand Mother used to make her own so that is what I did and it is so easy.

First you need three things.

One a gallon of milk.

Two a couple of lemons.

and three, a cheese cloth.

Cook the milk to a slow boil, take your time not to burn the milk. Once it boils turn the heat off and add the juice of 2 lemons or lemon extract if you have it, and once the milk cools just pour it through the cheese cloth and you have ricotta cheese. If you can find any kind of vinegar, white or rice, just pour a little into the mix or use the lemons. I think the lemons make the cheese taste a little better but a lot of people use vinegar. My GM always used white vinegar.

If you can’t find a cheese cloth, just use a cotton towel. Works everytime.

If you can’t find any ricotta, you could substitute some cottage cheese (there are already threads on where to buy and how to make it yourself), and/or fresh (high-moisture, pillow style) mozarella, as from Costco. It won’t be the same, but it will still be good. If the cottage cheese is wetter than the ricotta, then drain it first. If the cottage cheese is lower in fat, drain the thin liquid then add a bit of cream. If the ricotta is more of a smooth paste or has smaller curds, then whip briefly it in your mixer first. If you’re worried it won’t set up when baked, you could add an egg. I’m just theorizing here, not giving tested procedures. :smiley: One learns to make do, sometimes.

My friend who is converting a Chinese restaurant into an Italian Restaurant thinks the home made Ricotta I made is better than what he used to buy in the states. He always mixes an egg or two with a little OO and parsley when he makes his lasagna. He even wants to make all the chesses he uses if he can find the right stuff.

Making cheese is really easy if you can get a few things that are common in the states.

Every Italian I know put fennel seeds in his or her Lasagna as well as crushing them and using it in all tomato base sauces. The unique taste that lasagna has comes from the fennel and a dash of nutmeg. It is a major taste ingredient in Italian Sasuage whish is a major player in most true Italian Lasagna.

My grandmothero cooked everything Italian. Her mother was born in Naples and taught her how to cook. What I know she taught me and she always said, a few fennel seeds, a dash of nutmeg, and her sugar wine mixture was the secret to good Italian foods.