Italy's 'Instant' Lasagna Has An Unexpected Egg Topping
What happens when you combine lasagna, pizza, and eggs? You get pane frattau, a delightfully easy Italian dish originating in Sardinia, an island with an amazing food culture. This "blue zone", or an area where residents regularly live to be 100, is famous for its light, healthy foods and pane frattau is no exception.
Traditional lasagnas are made of thick pasta, heavy cheeses, and plenty of meaty tomato sauce. Pane frattau, however, is an easier, quicker version comprised primarily of pane carasau, a round Italian flatbread kind of like a crusty, thick tortilla. The bread is quartered and then dipped in broth to soften it up. It's then laid on a plate and given a spread of tomato sauce, pecorino romano, and basil. You can make however many layers you'd like, but a true pane frattau is finished with a poached egg on top.
This dish is flavorful and chewy, with tangy sweetness from the sauce mixing with the earthy flavors of cheese and basil. The poached egg adds a touch of creaminess after the yolk is punctured, making the whole dish as delightfully complex as it is easy to make. But like all foods, you can adjust this dish based on available ingredients and your tastebuds.
Making pane frattau at home
At its core, pane frattau needs a crispy flatbread softened in broth, traditionally lamb stock, as a base. Flatbreads that crackle and pop when you bite down have a richer, toastier flavor that soft bread can't imitate. The stock adds an additional layer of meaty flavor while also providing plenty of moisture to make it chewy.
You can use a store-bought or basic homemade tomato sauce based on how much time you have. You can use either pecorino romano or parmesan depending on your tastes. But, do yourself a favor and try to find a block of either cheese as their flavors are more complex and powerful than the standard, powdered varieties you may find sitting on a store shelf.
If you can't find pane carasau or don't have time to make it, try using lavash or even just toasting thin flatbread before softening it. Different breads respond to the broth in their own ways, so you may need to experiment with soaking time to make them chewy. The key is to find something with semolina flour as that's where the pane carasau's signature taste comes from.
There are tons of tips on how to cook poached eggs, so don't be afraid to try your hand. It's worth it to balance a creamy yolk with a just barely firm white on that rich bed of tomato and chewy bread. Otherwise, try using a soft-boiled one instead.