Lasagna

This is the best recipe for Lasagna ever. It comes from a cookbook called Culinaria Italia (see pic)

This cookbook has as many pictures as recipes, but it's not exactly laid out like a recipe book, it's organized by regions of Italy and the foods popular in each region. The recipes are all really delicious and traditionally Italian, not American-Italian, so you really get the local versions, and I would say the better versions of all things to do with Italian cooking.

I come back to this Lasagna recipe all the time. It's really rich and creamy, without all the cheesy gooey American way we think of it. And if you go the extra step to make homemade noodles, it's even better and totally melts in your mouth. 

This time I took the easy way out and bought the noodles, but it was still really good. You can make this, and here we go step by step:

Important note. Don't let the pages stick together or you will end up with this. Oops. Luckily I know how to put it all together. Duh. 

Carrots, celery, pancetta, onion. oregano - saute til soft.

Add a little white wine. Once it's cooked down, add 2 T tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce. Then add beef stock and some salt and pepper. Use the beef stock as it simmers to keep it from getting too thick.

 Let simmer for at least an hour. Once all simmery and good, set aside. Secret note: sometimes I will add chicken liver to the meat of this ragu, and sometimes I will add some anchovy. You don't need to tell anyone you did it, it will taste really good, and all the people who say they hate liver will wonder why this is the best sauce they ever tasted.

Next best thing for a good traditional lasagna, bechamel sauce. Sounds fancy, not fancy. Just butter, flour, milk and salt. You may add pepper at the end which I did, some people like to add a little nutmeg, whatever, it's just the best addition to your lasagna. Your're welcome.

Start your noodles. The water takes forever to boil, and your lasagna noodles take a while to cook, especially if they are store bought. Watch that they don't clump in the bottom of your pot, or stick together and break up. Pull out when al dente - dont let them get too soggy.

Parmesan cheese - grate. Have enough for the top layer of your lasagna, don't put it between layers, it's rich enough without it.

Start layering. Bechamel fist, then pasta, then meat. Then repeat til your lasagna is as tall as you want it.

I made one and a spare for the freezer.

Ready for freezer or oven. Cook at 375 I think, for about 30 minutes, everything is already cooked, so you are just melting the cheese and reheating til it's all bubbling away.

Now you're ready to serve it up.

Enjoy. If you would like the exact recipe, see Culinaria Italia or shoot me an email and I will send it to you.

Lamb-tastic Stew

Just because it's all about TURKEY TURKEY TURKEY right now, doesn't mean we can't throw a little love the lamb's way. What does the lamb say? Bah bah bbahhhb bu bah bah bah bahhhhhb bhahhh. (sorry, got a little distracted about what the lamb says!)

Make this when you are sick of turkey! It's yum yum yummy! And super easy.

Irish Lamb Stew

2 medium onions, chopped

1 T olive oil

2 1/2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1 inch pieces

7 carrots, chopped

5 C chicken broth

1/4 C pearl barley

2 t dried thyme

1/2 C chopped italian parlsey

1 fresh herb medley for beef, tied. (bouquet garni)

1 bay leaf

12 medium-sized red potatoes

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large, heavy saucepan, cook onions in oil over medium heat until translucent. Add lamb and brown. Add remaining ingredients except potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Place potatoes on top of stew, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and meat is falling apart.

Serve it up!

Soup's On!

Another weekend, another soup to cozy up to!
This time it's Creamy Cauliflower - easy and delicious. I added mushrooms because they are in season. It's great with our without! As my friend Kerry (who gave me this recipe) says " this is really a good one for people like my husband who think they don't like cauliflower!" 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

1T olive oil
1 Large onion
1 Large head of cauliflower
3 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chives or Truffle oil as topper

1. Start chopping

 2. Heat your oil in a pot on medium.

 3. Saute onions until tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Add in loosely chopped cauliflower (including stems). Cook 1-2 minutes until the cauliflower browns lightly.

4.5 I veered off the recipe this time because I had a ton of great looking mushrooms - and I thought they would be good to add, so I threw them in also.

 See.

 5. Add broth and bring to a boil, then reduce and cook 15-20 minutes, covered.

 6. Puree it all for 3-4 minutes. If you don't have an immersion blender, you should get one. Saved you a lot of mess - and totally awesome. 

 Then it looks like this. 

 7. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with chives on top, or with a drizzle of truffle oil. Nice to serve with a salad a french bread.

Recipe

The weather is getting colder so I've been in the mood for soups and stews and comfort food. This recipe is easy, tasty and as healthy as you want it to be. It calls for chicken-apple sausage, but in the past I've used sweet italian sausage which has been great, and this time I used turkey sausage because we are on a little diet right now. So far, no matter what I change, it's always good.

Cabbage and White Bean Soup with Sausage

Bon Appetit - 2008

Makes 8-10 servings

4 T olive oil - divided

12 oz fully cooked chicken-apple sausage (about 4), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices

4 C thinly sliced green cabbage 

3 leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

2 C baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise, then halved crosswise

2 T tomato paste concentrate 

2 T chopped fresh Italian Parsley

1 T chopped fresh rosemary

8 C low-salt chicken broth

1 15oz can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

Get your ingredients together and get all your chopping done first. This is what's called being a good sous chef. Be ready! Notice that I am a HUGE recipe cheater - I'm using turkey instead of chicken-apple sausage, and I'm using ground turkey instead of sausage - doesn't matter.

  Directions: Heat 2 T olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. 

 Add sausage (or ground turkey in my case) and saute until brown, about 5 minutes.

Add cabbage; saute 2 minutes. (I actually used a whole head of cabbage - and I like to use Savoy cabbage but there wasn't any at the store - so i used regular green cabbage which was fine).

 Transfer mixture to bowl and set aside.

 Add remaining 2 T olive oil to same pot. Add leeks and carrots and saute at medium until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes (I usually do more like 10 minutes).

Add tomato paste, parsley (I used curly parsley since I have a ton of it in the garden right now and I like it), and rosemary and stir for 1 minute or so.

Add broth, sausage/cabbage mixture and beans and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes (or not that long - you decide). Season to taste with salt and pepper.  EAT, then eat again  the next day.. and the next......

Here's the final - enjoy!