Nutmeg Is The Extra Ingredient You Need For An Unbeatable Lasagna

You've got all the makings of a fantastic homemade lasagna ready. You've got the cheese. You've got the lasagna sheets. You've got the sauce. But do you have the nutmeg? You might be scratching your head wondering how nutmeg, a staple spice in baking, could possibly elevate your lasagna. A little thinking outside the box and a nod to traditional Italian cooking is the answer.

Nutmeg is a spice that perhaps best encompasses the scent and flavors of fall: toasty, spicy, sweet, nutty, and even sometimes a little bitter if you take it too far. You know nutmeg is a great baking spice for pumpkin-based desserts like pumpkin pie or old-fashioned soft pumpkin cookies, adding a warm richness to the sweet pumpkin. But nutmeg can bring out the best in savory dishes as well, and nowhere is that more prevalent than when you add a bit of nutmeg to the cheese mixture of your lasagna.

Think of the creamy ricotta cheese in most lasagna recipes. Ricotta is a fluffy, creamy cheese. Its texture is perfect for making thick and gooey lasagna, but it can also act as a flavor chameleon, easily taking on the characteristics of the seasoning you add to it. Incorporating a hint of nutmeg into the ricotta cheese mixture adds a new level of flavor you might not have known was possible for lasagna. And don't be too shocked — Italian cooking uses nutmeg frequently, particularly in white béchamel sauce and in fillings for tortellini and ravioli. Think warm, nutty, and comforting flavor — this is everything nutmeg has to offer your lasagna.

You're likely to have some powdered, dried nutmeg on hand in your spice cabinet. If you're in a pinch and just need a way to spice up lasagna night, go right ahead and use it. But if you can find fresh nutmeg seed and hand-grate it using a microplane, the nutmeg's impact will be even greater. Just be sure to use more nutmeg if it's dried and less nutmeg if it's fresh, as the flavors are more potent when the nutmeg is fresh.

In addition to baked desserts, nutmeg works best in hearty, savory recipes, like a meat-based lasagna. Bright, crisp summer vegetables won't benefit as much from nutmeg's superpowers. But try adding nutmeg to some other recipes and you'll be surprised at the flavor depths you were lacking before. It's perfect blended into your next butternut squash or pumpkin soup — two fall vegetable staples. And now that you know what nutmeg can do for the cheese in your lasagna, how about adding nutmeg to your mac and cheese as well?

If using nutmeg in savory, main courses puts you off a bit, just start by using a little at a time and tasting as you go. But once you try nutmeg in your lasagna, you may never go back. You may even be emboldened to try cinnamon in your lasagna next. You can thank us later!