Meat lasagna: with or without spinach?
 

I cooked up a batch of meat lasagna this weekend, and when I asked Mr. Kipper what he thought of it, he said that it needed spinach. :confused: I replied that you don't add spinach to meat lasagna, just like you don't add meat to veggie lasagna.

So, FT dining connoisseurs, who is correct? Do you add spinach to meat lasagna or not? :D

I've never seen anything green besides basil and other herbs in meat lasagna.

I don't see it as a hard and fast rule, but I probably would not add spinach.

+1

Not sure there is any definition of lasagna anymore. It can be with or without pasta, with or without meat, with or without sauce, etc. When spinach is in season, I've made a lamb and spinach version of lasagna that I loved, but in general, I don't use spinach to make lasagna.

But there's no right or wrong with lasagna, it's whatever people like.

No spinach for me either in a meat lasagna but a veggie, for sure!!

I add spinach to my meat lasanga. Not sure it adds any flavor, but I like the look of the green. I mix the browned meat, the ricotta and the spinach together, seasoned with pepper, nutmeg and parmesan.

Spinach is icky and ruins lasagna.

+1.

More meat, no spinach for me.

We made our meat lasagna with spinach for over 20 years, mostly because we love spinach and it is a healthy ingredient. Starting about 7 years ago we changed our recipe. We eliminated the spinach and increased the cottage cheese (we've always preferred that to ricotta) We both agree it's better this way, even though we often have some sauteed spinach on the side. We still use an obscene amount of part-skim mozzarella. :)

Without!

I'm ambivalent, but a little story. When I was in college, living in the dorm, I worked behind the front desk, doing the residents' mail. The front desk supervisor invited all the employees to her home for lasagne (meat) dinner. It was incredibly delicious. During the meal, she happened to mention that there was spinach in it. One of the guys who had been raving about how delicious it was refused to eat another bite (because he didn't like spinach). We made fun of him for years. :D

I found out why he thinks there should be spinach in meat lasagna... His mother always made it that way. :eek:

I'm guessing I can't win this, so perhaps the solution will be to make half of the meat lasagna without spinach (my half) and half with spinach (his half).

Vegetable lasagna -- and anything approaching it, like spinach in lasagna -- just doesn't taste nor look right. That's why a Seinfeld episode turned it into a derogatory term.

It just depends on your personal viewpoint of that food: does it need to be pure, or can you play with it. For me I hate people screwing around with my Caesar salad, it should be by the book. Lasagne on the other hand I have no problems .......iseing so bring on the spinach.