Lasagna!!

Since I find that I've got a lot of times on my hands during Ramadan I attempted to try my hand at fresh pasta lasagna for the very first time!   The only other time I recall having a lasagna with fresh noodles is when I was really young, and it was mostly due to the fact that we were begging my mother for lasagna when we lived in Northern Iraq where they did not sell dry lasagna pasta sheets.  My mother made the dough and I vaguely remember having pasta sheets all over the front guest living room where it was half drying.

Elements: 

- Meat sauce
- Noodles/Pasta

- Bechamel Sauce
- Roasted vegetables

- Tomato sauce (for top)
- Cheese


Meat Sauce: 

This sauce contains very little tomato, so here it goes

- 2 tbsp good olive oil

-1 1/3-1/2 lb ground beef (your choice of blend, I used one pound lean and another 1/3 of medium) 

- 2-3 tomatoes (cut X in the bottom, place in a metal strainer and in the sink. Add boiling water from the kettle over them)  remove skins and core, dice to a medium chop.
- Salt & black pepper

Heat olive oil and brown the meat nicely on medium high then reduce to medium low allowing them to develop brown bits at the bottom of the pot.  When it can't brown any more (after about 15 mins) add chopped tomatoes and all the liquid from the tomatoes, this should create steam that will remove all the delicious brown bits off the bottom of the pot and create a nice sauce.  Lower heat while adding the tomatoes so it doesn't splatter on you or remove hot pan from heat completely.

Cover and set aside.


Roasted vegetables: 

- 3 Zucchini - slice in thick rings 

- 3 Eggplant - sliced into thick rings 

- 2 Red onion - chop into thick wedges

Salt the eggplant heavely and set in a strainer in the sink. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes.
Salt the zucchini lightly over a large casserole.  Set onions aside.

Preheat over to 400 F and set out a large baking tray lined with parchment.

Squeeze the eggplant with your hands to remove any moisture, rinse with water to remove excess salt and continue to squeeze the liquid out until they look grey (and kinda ugly)

Set all the vegetables in a bowl and toss with olive oil.  Place on a tray in an even layer and roast until nice and golden (turning them from side to side often) 

Bechamel sauce: 

Follow this recipe 

Set the bechamel in a bowl and cover with cling wrap until ready to use.

Cheese:

- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (about 1 1/2 cups!)
- 1 mozarella de buffala (fresh mozarella), totally optional! Thanks Country Cheese Company!

* Do not worry about the fresh mozarella, the liquid from this cheese will be absorbed by the fresh pasta so it will not be watery as it would it a traditional lasagna.


For the topping:

- 1 cup passata (strained tomato puree) 

- Salt & black pepper

- 1 tbsp good fresh olive oil (From Olive That!!)

Pasta: 

This is a fresh pasta lasagna so either you can purchase the sheets from the store or you could make them like I did!

2 cups flour

4 eggs

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl add the flour and salt, mix, create a well in the center. Crack the eggs in and blend with hands bringing in the flour slowly to incorporate with the eggs.

Knead until it's a nice smooth dough, form a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

Using a pasta machine or a rolling pin and large work surface dust the dough and begin rolling it as flat as you can (you should be able to almost see through it)

Depending on what shape your casserole dish is either cut long strips or in a square/rectangle (or even circles like I did! Circles can be wasteful though, just a heads up)

You will need several layers of dough to create your lasagna, at least 5.


To assemble: 

Reserve some cheese by setting it aside. 

Add meat sauce to the bottom of the pan (a thin layer) 

Lay in a sheet of fresh pasta and from that point layer on everything else: 

- Meat sauce

- Pieces of roasted vegetables

- Grated cheese ( including soft pieces of mozarella de buffala lightly torn by hand or cut into slices)
- Bechamel

..... do several layers like this until you end with a piece of pasta and  pour over the passata fresh tomato puree.  Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt & black pepper and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Simplicity

Lately I've not had a lot of time to cook, but that hasn't stopped me!  As you all probably know by now that my style is slow cooking (and by that I don't mean using a crockpot because I don't even own) but from scratch home cookin' and of course my beloved Middle Eastern recipes!   Our grandma's spent most hours of their days cooking and out of their kitchens came amazingly delicate and intricate recipes like hand stuffed and rolled grape leaves, different variations of kubbah (which are doughs stuffed with filling and either fried, baked or simmered in rich stews)  and so many more beautiful dishes.

On the flip side there's a lot to be learnt from having really little time on hand when it comes to meal prep. I love Jamie Oliver' 30 and 15 minute meals and Nigella's cooking because what I've learned from watching these cooking shows is that sometimes it's OK to cut  down on steps and still make something fabulous to eat!

Whether it's cooking long and slow or quick there is always something to learn and acquire new techniques and perfect cooking skills.

I made a second visit to Country Cheese (I wrote about my first visit here) and picked up some fun cheeses.  They have these lovely fresh cheese curds on a weekly basis that are flying off the counter (literally.. so gotta get there early!) 

I also picked up an interesting cheese which was flavoured in house, they rub it with a lemon infused olive oil and then roll it in dried herbs.  I forgot the name of the cheese but if you go in there and ask them they'll know what you're talkin' about.  It's such a nice snacking cheese, I love the hint of lemon (I love lemon in everything) but find that it really cuts the richness!  Very addictive. 

I've experimented a little with it in cooking, and like a parmigiano reggiano it's perfect to just grate in last minute. The first recipe I made was a pasta in a plain cream sauce which then I shaved/grated quite a bit of this cheese onto it  A few globes of cherry tomato to garnish the plate and it was perfection!  

It's also a perfect breakfast cheese as you can see we enjoyed with an array of fruit, fresh bread and vegetables.  I put a Middle Eastern spin on this spread, which really is how I like to enjoy my cheese! Give me some bread, olives, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers and I'm good to go!

I will add that this lemony cheese is also PERFECT shaved in large curls over a plate of fresh pasta in tomato sauce.Those herbs are great especially in the dead of winter when I can't get to the supermarket to pick up fresh herbs (not to mention they're so expensive)

This cheese is a keeper!

My last favourite thing when it comes to simple meals and I've written about this before but I'm going to say it again, I LOVE those flame savours by Highliner, amazing fish fillets that cook up in 24 minutes, just so perfect! I now make them twice a week.

A little Lidia in your life..

I LOVE watching Lidia Bastianich Cook, I mean what foodie doesn't?   Her food is just so comforting and you really feel the love in her kitchen, it reminds me a lot of Arabic Cooking...  grandma's in the kitchen, large family style platters and bringing together all those really economical ingredients to create a spectacular meal.

To me that's what food is all about!

After watching a marathon of her Cooking show episodes while the super bowl was running last sunday (I really dislike sports and have no clue about American Football)  I was inspired to not only whip up a pasta dish but to give rapini yet another try (Think it's been 14 years, I've been *trying* to love it)

I can happy announce that it worked.  The rapini was really delicious in this dish, not too bitter and I really loved it!

If you watch Lidia you'll know that there are some basic rules to follow.  Boiling the pasta al dante, never putting oil in the pasta water, making sure to keep that lovely pasta water to finish the sauce and add lots of cheese (at the end!)

Unfortunately I didn't have any cheese in the house but I went ahead anyway washing and slicing the rapini, the stalks into 1/2 inch rings and the tops a little rougher, leaving the "broccoli" flower like parts fully in tact.

These pasta sauces come together in no time, I mean by time you're boiling the pasta it's done!

She used sausage, I used lean ground beef and spiced it a few hours in advance with salt, black pepper, lots of minced/grated fresh garlic and olive oil (add cubes of butter if desired)

When the meat was room temperature, and the Rapini was washed and sliced it was ready to go.

Pasta was on.

Normally garlic is sauteed at this first step but there was enough in the meat so I browned the "sausage" and to that added the rapini over top. Adding some pasta water to the pan I covered with a lid and let the rapini "steam" a bit. 

When the pasta was done 9 minutes later and the stems of the rapini were tender it was ready to go. 

Pasta goes over top, more pasta water and I toss with the heat off.  It all comes together beautifully.  

I enjoy a little acidity in my food so I added a lot of worstershire sauce over top (I know I know it's british not Italian but oh well) 

Not everyone was keen on trying the Rapini so I was lucky to have divided the "sausage" early on and roll half the meat mixture into mini "meatballs" 

I cleaned the pan and started again, quickly browning the meat and adding these little grape tomatoes to the pan, as soon as they "pop"  (you can squish them a bit with the back of the spatula) the pasta and pasta water goes in, it all comes together with a little worstershire sauce and we're good to go!

If I had cheese it would have gone overtop at the end.

It was a great meal!

Incase you're wondering, I got the pasta for a great price (clearance) from Winners (who knew?!)

Winners is a TJMAXX or Home Goods type or store. 

The cheese boutique

The cheese boutique experience which always consists of their gracious hospitality, a learning experience, and leaving the shop with a handful of yummy cheese... and of course the after party at home!