An acquaintance who married into a Southern Italian family told me to separate an egg or two for the ricotta filling in lasagna or cannelloni, beat yolk and white separately, fold in the yolk, fold in the white. She also used grated Parm in the ricotta and -- the "secret" ingredient -- an herb, whether dried oregano or fresh basil or Italian parsley, whatever, but only one, and not too much of it.