Originally Posted by
Cloudship
..., but the top layer she always put a little ricotta down first, then topped with the meat sauce. The ricotta cooked up a bit, and I always liked that topping.
I always stop with a thin layer of Béchamel Sauce just to keep the top layer of pasta moist. The last 5 minutes of cooking, I raise the temperature by a couple degrees, which activates the grill and makes the top layer (thanks to the parmesan) very crispy.
I've never used Ricotta or Mozzarella with the traditional recipe. I did do other variants with layers of pesto rosso instead of the meat sauce and a mixture of Parmesan, Ricotta, a few sliced dried tomatoes and basil instead of the Béchamel Sauce. It's nice too and can be eaten by vegetarians. It's no help for vegans, given that there's lots of cheese and one egg involved.