Tag: pasta

Lasagna in un altro modo

Scott and I spent a month in Italy this year. We rented a cozy place in our favorite town, Lucca, which is within the Tuscany region. He made this amazing lasagna. Even the pasta was made from scratch.

The secret to this dish is the Lucchese Spice. He found it in Lucca, and the ingredients are mysterious but we are guessing it has nutmeg, cumin, and cinnamon in it.

Ragu-

Ingredients-

½ cup Celery, Onion, Carrot Diced      

½ lb. Ground Pork or Sausage

 ½ lb. Ground Beef

28 oz. Tomato Sauce (Puree, Whole, or Crushed) I recommend Cento

28 0z. Water

½ cup Red or White Wine

Salt & Pepper

Lucchese Spice

Oregano

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO)

You’ll need a Dutch oven or pot big enough to hold 60 oz.

Directions–      

  1. Add Celery, Onion, Carrot to pot on medium heat in about 2 TBS. EVO with some salt to help the veggies sweat. Cook until soft.
  2. Add Pork and continuously break up pork until fine and cooked through. Don’t skip this process, patience is key. I usually do it on medium low and keep breaking it up until I like the consistency of the meat. You have to add some EVO if it looks like its drying out.
  3. Repeat the same as #2 with the Beef.
  4. Once the meat is finely broken up add ½ Cup Red (bolder flavor) or White wine, I prefer white. Cook until the alcohol smell is gone. 
  5. Add 28 oz. tomato sauce, fill can with water to extract the leftover sauce and add to pot.
  6. Add Spices to your desired taste, but, about ½ teaspoon Lucchese should be enough, you can always add more of anything if you need as the sauce simmers.
  7. Simmer Sauce for at least FOUR HOURS, I find the best sauce simmers for at least six hours. Add water if sauce looks to thick.

Besciamella-

Ingredients-

The simple equation to besciamella is 1 part flour to 1 part butter to 10 parts milk, and can be adjusted as you need.

5 tablespoons butter, (70g)

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (70g)

4 and 1/4 cups whole milk, (1 litre)

1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Parmigiano Cheese

Salt (optional) and pepper, to taste

Directions-

 I like to do this about 30 minutes before I am ready to assemble the Lasagna.

  1. Melt butter in saucepan.
  2. In a separate pan, warm the milk, do not boil.
  3. Once melted add flour and stir until mixed (no chunks). It should have the viscosity of Elmers glue.
  4. On medium high heat add in the milk and stir vigorously with a whisk until it begins to thicken like pudding.
  5. Add the nutmeg and pepper and mix well.
  6. Grate some parmigiano into sauce, amount depends on you.

Noodles-

Buy a box, cook them. Or I can teach you how to make the homemade version.

Layering-

Directions–

  1. Place a light layer of sauce or besciamella on bottom of casserole dish.
  2. Place a layer of noodles overlapping.
  3. Add ragu to cover noodles but not thick.
  4. Add besciamella and spread out with ragu. It ain’t gonna look pretty but will mix well.
  5.  Grate a coating layer of parmigiano over layer.
  6. Repeat until you get to the top or you run out of ingredients.
  7. The top should be a layer of besciamella, or just another mixture of the ragu and besciamella. At this point you might have a lot of one or the other left over. No need to make more. And of course you’ll be wanting to add more grated Parmigiano on the top.

Bake at 400 Degree for 25 minutes. You can always cook a few minutes longer depending on your desire. Another method is 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Butter Cream Sauce

There is nothing like homemade pasta filled with delicious filling. Whether it is meat, cheese, or this yummy butternut squash filling, the result is a delicious meal made with love. I paired this ravioli with a brown-butter sage sauce and it was delicious! No measurements for this one, you will need to taste as you go.

Pasta dough ingredients:

Tipo 00 flour

one egg per 100 grams of flour used

Butternut squash ingredients:

Butternut squash

Extra-virgin olive oil

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg, pinch

Fresh sage, chopped (1-2 leaves)

Heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2

Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

Butter cream sauce ingredients:

3 TBS Butter

1/4 cup shallots, sliced thinly

1 sprig tarragon, stems removed

2-3 sprigs thyme, stems removed

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup parmigiana cheese, grated

Directions:

First make your homemade pasta dough:

Make a mound of flour on your (clean) counter top. In the middle of the flour mound, with your hands, make a little well. Crack the egg inside the well. Using a fork or your hands, lightly beat the eggs and gradually mixing the eggs with the flour from the inside lining of the well. 

Gradually work in more flour from the inside of the well until the dough becomes too thick. At this stage, begin to use your fingertips and then your hands. 

Once all the flour has been used, begin to knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. The dough will become smooth and elastic. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with the extra flour you’ve reserved.  Continue to knead your dough until it is no longer sticky. 

The test to ensure your dough is ready is if, when you poke a hole using your fingers, the hole bounces back at you. 

If you have reached this stage, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and let it stand on your counter for at least 20 minutes. 

Second make your butternut squash filling:

Peel and cube your butternut squash and place on a roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over the squash and salt and pepper. Roast at 400 F until tender, timing depends on the size of cubes.

Place all of your butternut squash ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend. All ingredients must be adjusted to taste.

Third continue making your pasta:

Start a large pot of boiling water and add salt.

We are lucky to have a KitchenAid with a pasta machine on it. If you have one of these or a hand crank pasta machine, the following directions apply to you. If you do not, you will need to roll out your pasta dough by hand.

Remove your dough from the plastic wrap and cut your dough into 8 pieces. Cover with a damp cloth to ensure they do not dry-out. 

Make the first piece flat using your hand or a roller. If it is sticky, dust with flour.

Feed your first piece through the pasta machine at the widest setting. Once it has been passed through, adjust the setting to make the width thinner at the next level. Continue this process until you have reached the desired width of your pasta (usually at the 2nd thinnest width) 

Once you have finished your first sheet, set it aside and continue these steps for each piece of dough you have cut.  You will probably need to dust them with flour. Once you have created all the sheets using all your available dough, place the filling on the sheets, 2 finger widths apart, so that you can fold over and cut the ravioli shape. Once you fold over, press gently to seal. Use a fork to gently press the edges to seal a bit more.

Lastly make the butter cream sauce:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the pan. 

Once butter has melted add the sliced shallot and sauté for 1-2 minutes for the shallot to soften, being cautious to not burn. Add the tarragon and thyme leaves. 

Once the shallot has softened, reduce the heat and stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add the cooked ravioli to the sauce and use a spoon to coat in the sauce.Serve it over your cooked ravioli. Sprinkle the completed dish with shredded parmigiana.

Godere!

Bolognese Sauce

This delicious bolognese sauce is a recipe my BF has mastered and tweaked to perfection. The longer it simmers throughout the day, the better, so start early with the cookery. Use the pasta of your choice.

Ingredients:

1/2 stalk celery, diced

1/2 carrot, diced

1/4 yellow or white onion, diced

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

25 oz can crushed tomato

Water, use the empty tomato can, you will need 3/4 of the can and may need to add more

1/2 cup dry white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp oregano

Chili flake to taste

Pasta

Directions:

Heat olive oil and sauté vegetables on medium until softened, about five minutes. Add beef first, brown, add pork to beef and vegetables, brown. Do not pour off fat, leave it in there for flavor. Add wine and cook until alcohol is cooked absorbed. Add water, tomato, and spices to taste. Simmer covered for at least two hours, the longer the better.

Once it is ready to eat, boil the pasta of your choice and enjoy!