When I met Lionel Barrieu, practically the only Jew living in Auch, a small town in the sparsely inhabited department of Gers, in the southwest of France, I thought he was an ordinary Jewish policeman. But as his story unfolded, his saga became more complicated. Lionel, who also goes by his Hebrew name, Ariel, is the grandson of a Roman Catholic Paris-born police inspector. When the Germans took over Paris in 1940, the other policemen encouraged his grandfather to help round up the Jews living in the capital. As Lionel tells the story, his grandfather smelled a rat and, not wanting to be part of this witch hunt, went underground. Lionel, in his early forties, followed in his grandfather’s footsteps, going to the police academy while also studying theology, Greek, and Latin at the University of Strasbourg. “When I discovered the biblical texts in Hebrew and French,” he told me in his office, “I realized the two Bibles were different. The Hebrew was richer and more spiritual.” After moving to Auch, he converted to Judaism with the help of the rabbi in Toulouse, about one and a half hours away, even getting circumcised at the age of thirty-nine. Today Lionel leads a Jewish life with his wife, also a police officer, who does not follow his religious practices. “I go to buy kosher meat at a little store in Toulouse,” he told me. “I feel as if I can now respect the animal.” For the Jewish Sabbath every week, which he observes, Lionel makes challah. He used to bake it on Friday, during his lunch hour, but too many police emergencies disturbed his bread-making. Now, to be extra careful, he makes it on Thursday evening, after work. One of the dishes that he missed most after taking on the obligation of keeping kosher was his meat lasagna. To satisfy his craving, he created this version, using soy milk instead of cow’s milk in the béchamel sauce. It is hearty and rich, and can fool almost anyone.
The lasagna can be assembled in advance and frozen, unbaked. When ready to bake, place frozen lasagna in 375-degree oven, and cook for about 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown.
Recipe information
Yield
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Once it begins to brown, add the minced garlic and the herbes de Provence. Stir the tomato sauce into the meat, bring it to a simmer, and remove from the heat. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Step 3
To make the béchamel sauce, heat the margarine or oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the margarine has melted, add the flour all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture has no lumps and begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the soy milk, 1 cup at a time, keeping in mind that you might not need the whole quart. Stir in a good pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and remove from the heat when creamy.
Step 4
Cook the lasagna sheets in a pot of boiling, salted water until they are almost cooked through but still a bit chewy. Drain, and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to prevent them from sticking together.
Step 5
To assemble the lasagna, pour about 1 cup of the béchamel into the bottom of an 8-by-11-inch ovenproof baking dish. Put a layer of lasagna sheets on top. Spread about 1 cup of the meat sauce on top of the lasagna. Then cover the meat sauce with another cup of the béchamel, followed by a layer of lasagna sheets. Repeat with the meat sauce and the béchamel until you have four layers, or until you run out of meat sauce. Finish with a layer of lasagna sheets covered with béchamel.
Step 6
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
