Lasagne

Lasagne 


This is one of my favourite dishes. Many recipes do not use  bechamel sauce but I find that this makes the dish ever so tasty!

Ingredients for the sauce:
2 onions: 1 brown, 1 white
1 glove of garlic
1 leek
2 celery sticks
300 gr. lean pork
100 gr. of chicken
300 gr ground beef
some parsley
extra virgin olive oil
pinch of oregano
1 nutmeg
2 cans tomato pulp
1 can tomato sauce
a sage leaf
rosemary
a bay leaf


Ingredients for the Béchamel Sauce:
1.5 litre of milk
1 nutmeg
salt and pepper
50 gr. butter
200 gm. cornflour


PREPARATION of the sauce:

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic, leek, celery and parsley. Lightly fry them in the oil with the sage, bay leaf and rosemary. Once the vegetables are browned remove the herbs.
2. Finely mince the meat. Add the meat to the vegetables and cook the combined ingredients for a further 20 minutes.
3. Add the tomatos, remaining herbs and a bay leaf and continue cooking the sauce over a medium heat for approximately 2 hours.

PREPARATION of the béchamel sauce:
4. Heat aprox 2 cups of milk and the butter until almost boiling - but don't let it boil!
5. Take off from heat and add the cornflour stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
6. Put back on heat and slowly add the rest of the milk stirring constantly over a medium heat until it begins to thicken. Allow the sauce to thicken for a further 5 mins reducing the heat to low.

FINAL PREPARATION:
7. Cook the lasagne in a saucepan of salted boiling water.( I find that the no cook lasagne is just as good.Barilla makes some excellent no boil lasagne)
8. Cover the base of a greased baking dish with a thin layer of meat sauce, then add a slither of bechamel sauce, and a layer of lasagne. (You can also add some parmesan cheese.) Repeat this process until all the ingredients have been used, finishing off with the bechamel on the top. Cover with aluminum foil
9. Cook the lasagne in a preheated oven for 1/2 hour at 180°.
10. For the last 10 minutes, take off the foil and add grated parmisan cheese and put back in the oven

Some tips.
You can also layer with ricotta and/or creamed spinach for a really decadent dish!

Rice Pudding

Before winter  starts, I thought I'd post some (more) comfort food. Rice Pudding has always been a favourite of mine - easy to make and very tasty! Some recipes use an eeg but I found that without the egg the pudding is creamier
Ingredients. Other recipes also use cream but I think whole milk will do.

I am also adding a recipe for Indian Rice Pudding - I haven't tried it but it sounds delicious!

Ingredients
¾ cup rice (medium grain), cooked
1 ltr whole milk
150 g sugar
Lemon zest
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)


Method
Bring the milk and the lemon zest to a very slow simmer.
Add the cooked rice and sugar.
Stir well to combine.
Return to a slight simmer and cook for an additional 3 -5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and let cool almost completely, then pour into a bowl and refrigerate.
Serve chilled and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Some recipe also add raisins, use a mixture of milk and coconut milk (or cream).

Here is a recipe from Alton Brown for Indian Rice Pudding

Ingredients

1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup
1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup

Directions
In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk.
Heat until the mixture begins to boil.
Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping.
Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios.
Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.
Serve chilled or at room temperature.

English Trifle

Trifle is one of the oldest English deserts..and my favourite.

The word trifle derives from the Middle English trufl which in turn came from the Old French trufe (or truffle), meaning something of little importance.

Originally, in the late 16th century, the culinary meaning of the word trifle was a dish composed of cream boiled with various ingredients... Trifle is the one of the richest English desserts and it is served on special occasions like Christmas.

This is an easy way to make it.

Ingredients:

About 2 pints of custard - see the previous recipe.

I sometimes make on pint of chocolate custard and one pint vanilla, just to vary

1 pre cooked sponge cake - or you can make one yourself, cut horizontally in thin slices

Some Sherry

Some apricot jam

2 tins Nestle's Cream (this give the best result - if you can't find it whipped cream will do)

Method:

You can use a round or square glass bowl - i prefer the square one.

Take some of the sponge and place on the bottom of the dish.

Melt the apricot jam and spread across the sponge.

Add a good splash of sherry

Add the custard.

Repeat the above except for the jam as that it just on the first layer.

End with a think layer of nestles cream.

You can always drizzle some chocolate on the top and make a pattern.

This is DELICIOUS!

Baked Potatoes - Patata fil Forn

On Sundays, families in Malta would take their Roast and Baked Potatoes to be cooked at the local bakery. Bakeries would operate entirely on wood fuel - often old doors and Windows that would have been painted....and no lead free paint at that time! Nevertheless, the food never tasted as good as it did cooked that way.

Ingredients

6 large baking potatoes(skin on or off as preferred)

Olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Sprig of fresh rosemary

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

Method
Preheat your oven to 475 degrees F
Chop potatoes into quarters.
Cut onions and garlic and put into a large ovenproof dish
Add the potatoes and spices
Add about 2 cups of water or until the water reaches half way up the potatoes.
Drizzle the oil over the potatoes - about 2-3 tablespoons will do
Sprinkle your spice mixture generously over the potatoes, making sure each side is generously covered in the mix.
Place on bottom rack of oven and bake for one hour or until done (turning over or stirring half way through
The potatoes will be a mixture of crispy and soft - delicious!

Stuffed Pork Loin

Easy to make and delicious to eat! Thanks to my MOM for this great recipe!

Ingredients
1 pork loin or half, if too large
1 apple chopped finely
6 fresh sage leaves chopped finely
3 or 4 sun dried tomatoes chopped
2 or 3 fresh garlic cloves chopped finely
1 tbsp mango chutney, salt and pepper.

Method

Slit loin in half lengthwise, then slit again on either side of cut to extract a flap on each side. Beat gently with a meat hammer to flatten.

Mix all other ingredients together, spread over meat

Roll the meat and tie tightly with string.

Put in oven proof dish previously sprayed with oil. Drizzle a little oil over meat. Add salt and pepper as necessary.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375F. till an inserted thermometer registers an inner temperature of 170F. Take out of oven and cover with foil and let it rest at least 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve with desired sides.

Time for some biscotti!

These classic twice baked cookies can be made in a variety of ways - you can use pecans or walnuts instead of the almonds, you can add dried apricots, cherries or blueberries....anything is possible! The whole-wheat flour in this case gives them an extra crunch.

They can also be drizzled with chocolate for extra sweetness.

This recipe is a lower fat alternative - there are only 79 calories per 3 cookies! part of my lose weight but eat well project!

Ingredients.

3/4 cup wholewheat flour

3/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs (beaten)

1/4 cup low fat milk (or soy milk)

2 1/2 tbs canola oil

2 tbs honey

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds.

Method.

Pre heat oven to 350F

Combine The flours, sugar and baking powder.

Add the eggs, milk, canola oil, honey and almond extract and mix well

Add the almonds.

Mix until the dough is well blended

(I use my hands here-easier and more fun!)

Put the dough on a long sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a flat log about 12" long, 3" wide and 1" thick. You will need the plastic cos the dough is rather sticky.

Lift the wrap and transfer the dough to a non stick baking sheet.

Bake for about 20-30 mins until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven, put onto another baking sheet or a cutting board and leave for a few minutes to cool slightly.

Cut crosswise on the diagonal using a serrated knife and cut slices of about 1/2" thick.

Put the slices back on the baking dish, cut side down and bake for another 15-20 mins or until crisp.

When cool, you can dust with powdered sugar (or not!)

They keep well in an airtight container and are delicious with a cup of coffee!

Garibaldi Biscuits

I am yearning for these biscuits - i must have ate a zillion kilos of them as a child....difficult to find in the states...
The Garibaldi biscuit consists of currants in a plain biscuit, best enjoyed with tea or coffee. They are also called dead fly biscuits, because the currants resemble dead flies!!They consist of a dry, not too sweet dough, a shiny glazed top,  squashed currants and the brilliant device of leaving strips of five biscuits joined together, like perforated cardboard. This biscuit is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general and leader in the fight to unify Italy. It was first manufactured by Peak Freans in 1861 after Garibaldi visited England.

I actually found them for sale here in the Vermont Country Store

Had a shot at making them....not quite the same thing but they will do for now!

Ingredients:

7oz plain flour
1oz cornflour
2oz caster sugar
pinch of salt
2oz butter
1 egg yolk
a little milk
4oz currants
egg white to glaze

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet. Sift the flour and cornflour into a bowl with the sugar and salt. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Squash the currents with a fork

Add the egg yolk and mix to a stiffish dough with sufficient milk. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out thinly to a long thin rectangle. Trim the edges square and sprinkle one half of the dough evenly with currants.

Fold over the dough and press the edges together. Roll with a floured rolling pin to about ¼ inch thick, cut into convenient squares or rectangles and brush with egg white to glaze. Prick with a fork to make the little holes.

Place on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.