Crispy lasagne skewers meet cacio e pepe’s cousin

No need to fight over lasagne’s crunchy edges with these messy pasta sticks, ready to dunk in a peppery, velvety cheese sauce. Authentic? No. Bloody brilliant? Yes.

Lasagne is one of the world’s great dishes. Not up for discussion. But it is very… soft. Sometimes you want edges, you want crunch that you can drag through something creamy, peppery, and just close enough to cacio e pepe to raise an eyebrow but not start a family argument.

These are the bits you’d usually fight over: the edges, the burnt corners and the crispy folds. Only here, they are the main event. The sauce sits somewhere between a classic bechamel and a sharp cacio e pepe. It’s not a careful dish; it’s messy, cheesy and unapologetically delicious.

Briefly run the fresh lasagne sheets under hot water, then cut into roughly 5cm squares. Push a few squares onto a skewer, then top with a piece of cheese (think: old-school cabanossi skewers), and follow with a few more squares of lasagne sheet. Repeat until the pasta and cheese on the skewers are about the length of your fist. Finish with a few lasagne squares rather than a piece of cheese. Repeat with the remaining skewers, lasagne squares and mozzarella.

Place the skewers on a roasting tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. Brush with melted butter and cook for 15-20 minutes. The sheets should look crisp and the cheese should be melted and browning in spots.

While the skewers cook, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, then stir in the flour for about a minute to create a roux. Slowly whisk in the milk until the sauce begins to thicken, then pour in the cream, which gives the sauce a velvety finish. Remove from the heat and whisk in the parmesan and pecorino until smooth. Season generously with a good grind of black pepper.

Remove the skewers from the oven. Brush with a little of the sauce and top with the extra parmesan. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden. Pour the sauce onto a large serving plate. Top with the skewers and season again with freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with plates and napkins – you are going to want to swipe and swivel and sauce at will.

You can use dry sheets here too, though I’ve opted for fresh simply to skip the extra step of par-boiling them first.

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