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Posts Tagged ‘Lasagne’

Squash and Sage Lasagne Gratin

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 3 October 2022| Leave a Comment »

A bit like a classic lasagne but there’s no béchamel and definitely less fuss altogether. It tastes absolutely amazing too. The recipe is from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage; a book full of delicious things.

Wine Suggestion: we grabbed the first thing in the fridge which was the Zuani Bianco Riserva, an oaked Collio from North Eastern Italy which is a blend of Friulano, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. Stunning, with so much complexity and layered fruits, savouriness and creamy textures. An under-rated part of the world. If you can’t find something like this, look for a lightly oaked white with a fresh acidity and a nutty finish.

Squash and sage lasagne gratin – serves 4 (generously)

  • half a large butternut squash, peeled and seeds discarded (about 500g)
  • 400g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2¾ tsp fine salt
  • 5g fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped, plus 10 extra leaves to serve
  • 6 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
  • 220g double cream, plus extra 2 tbsp to serve
  • 80g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
  • ¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 250g-300g dried lasagne sheets
  • 400g chicken stock (you can use veg stock if you prefer)

Heat the oven to 220C fan/240C.

Finely slice the butternut squash into very thin half moons – a mandoline is best for this or you could use the slicing attachment on a food processor.

Mix the squash slices, tomatoes, garlic, tomato purée, fine salt, chopped sage, 4 tbsp olive oil and lots of black pepper, together in a large bowl. Your hands are best to toss it all together.

Mix the cream, Parmesan and nutmeg together in another bowl. Set 80g of this mixture aside for later.

Cover the bottom of a baking dish (approx. 28cm x 23cm) with a layer of lasagne sheets, then a layer of the squash mixture. Spoon over some of the cream mixture, then continue the layering until you have used everything. Pour the stock evenly over everything in th edish, then cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the foil. Spoon over the reserved 80g of cream mixture and return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Mix 2 tbsp of the oil with the 10 sage leaves in a small bowl. Spoon this over the lasagne and return to the oven for a final 5-6 minutes, or until the sage leaves look crisp and the lasagne golden-brown.

Rest for 10 minutes, then finish with the 2 tbsp of cream, a good drizzle of olive oil and plenty of extra grated Parmesan, sea salt and black pepper.

(Original recipe from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage, Ebury Press, 2022.)

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Lasagne with Pesto

Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 November 2021| Leave a Comment »

This version has fresh pesto stirred through the béchamel sauce which is a variation we’d not come across before, and it’s very good indeed. So good we may add any leftover pesto to dishes like this in the future; it brings a burst of Spring to a rich dish.

Wine Suggestion: We were uncertain what to open alongside this dish given the many components, but felt we needed to stick to an Italian. Freshness to balance the béchamel, depth for the layered richness, but a lightness of being to complement the basil pesto. We had a bottle of Pira Langhe Nebbiolo on the shelf and we’re happy to report it was a good match.

Lasagne with pesto – serves 6 to 8

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 glass of red wine
  • 700ml passata
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 12 fresh lasagne sheets

FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

  • 100g butter
  • 100g plain flour
  • 1 litre full-fat milk
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
  • 100g freshly grated Parmesan

FOR THE PESTO

  • 40g basil leaves
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 30g pine nuts
  • 120ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 20g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions, carrot and celery for 5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the beef mince and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon until browned all over. Season and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the wine, stir well and buble for about 3 minutes, then add the passata and tomato purée, lower the heat and continue to cook for an hour, uncovered, until you have a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning after 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pesto by putting the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor. Pour in the oil and blitz until smooth, then transfer to a bowl and fold in the cheese. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside.

To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the cold milk, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. When the béchamel is thickened, stir in half the Parmesan, the nutmeg and the pesto. Season and set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4.

To assemble, spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish. You can use your lasagne sheets to get the right sized dish, you need to make 3 layers of lasagne sheets. Lay a third of the lasagne sheets over the béchamel, then spread over half the meat sauce and top with another thin layer of béchamel.

Lay another third of the lasagne sheets on top and cover with the rest of the meat sauce. Add the final layer of lasagne and spread the remaining béchamel on top, completely covering the lasagne sheets. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan and grind some black pepper over the top.

Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, then move to the middle shelf and increase the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook for another 15 minutes or until browned and bubbling.

Remove the lasagne from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

(Original recipe from Gino’s Pasta by Gino D’Acampo, Kyle Books, 2010.)

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Mushroom Lasagne with Basil and Cream

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 December 2020| 5 Comments »

This is very rich and luxurious, and needs a sharp salad to go along with it. Nigel Slater’s addition of basil sauce is a great idea and makes a super tasty dish.

Wine Suggestion: We suspect a good Nebbiolo would work with this but in the absence one in our rack tonight we chose Domaine Jamet’s Cotes du Rhone. Made from 100% Syrah in the Northern Rhone it still has a hint of richness and spice as if it has a Gigondas influence but also the earthy, leather spice of the North. 

Mushroom lasagne with basil and cream – serves 6

  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 small cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
  • a thick slice of butter
  • 10g dried porcini mushrooms
  • 750g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • a good handful of chopped parsley
  • 5 tbsp of freshly grated Parmesan, plus an extra 3 tbsp for the top
  • 150ml double cream
  • 750ml béchamel sauce (Nigel suggests you can use ready-made for this but if you want to make your own we’ve included a recipe below – a pint should be plenty).
  • 350g fresh lasagne sheets (dried can be used either)

FOR THE BASIL SAUCE

  • 60g pine nuts
  • 50g basil leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • olive oil
  • 4 tbsp grated Parmesan

To make a pint of béchamel sauce, melt 2oz of butter in a medium-sized saucepan, then stir in 2oz of plain flour and cook for a minute or two. Gradually add a pint of full-fat milk, stirring continuously and only adding a bit more when the previous bit has been absorbed. Keep stirring until all of the milk has been added and the sauce comes to a simmer and thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a deep frying pan, then add the onions and garlic and cook gently for about 20 minutes, or until softened and translucent.

Meanwhile, cover the dried porcini with warm water – no more than 100ml – and leave to soak.

To make the basil sauce, whizz the pine nuts, basil, garlic, some olive oil and Parmesan in a food processor. You need enough oil to form a sloppy paste. Alternatively you can crush the garlic with a little salt in a mortar, then mash in the basil, pine nuts, cheese and olive oil.

Stir the sliced mushrooms into the onions and partially cover with a lid. Leave to colour and soften, then add the dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid, the parsley, 5 tbsp of Parmesan and the cream. Season well with salt and black pepper, then simmer until the mixture has reduced and thickened a bit.

To assemble the lasagne, take a large casserole dish and spread a few tbsp of the béchamel over the bottom. Cover with a layer of pasta, then half the mushroom filling. Add another layer of pasta, then a second layer of mushrooms. Top with a final layer of pasta, then spread over the basil sauce. Cover the top completely with the rest of the béchamel and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 180C/Gas 4 for 50 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

(Original recipe from The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2005.)

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Cheesy Ham Hock, Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , on 15 July 2020| Leave a Comment »

Cheesy Ham Hock, Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne

This is a nice crowd pleaser and kept us entertained for a while on a miserable day in Dublin. You can buy shredded ham hock in supermarkets now which makes this a great prep-ahead lunch for friends.

Wine Suggestion: Tonights choice to match the dish was provided by a friend, the Chateau La Bienveillance Sémillon 2019, a delightful and easy white which had a little texture and freshness to balance the cheese, plus a little earthiness which went well with spinach. If you can’t find Semillon then Chenin Blanc will work as well.

Cheesy ham hock, spinach & ricotta lasagne – serves 6

  • 70g butter
  • 70g plain flour
  • 1 litre full-fat milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 80g grated Parmesan or Gruyère (we had both in the fridge so used a mixture)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • a pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 600g spinach (the big-leafed stuff works best here)
  • 250g ricotta
  • a grating of nutmeg
  • 300g shredded ham hock (if you can’t find ham hock you can use shred thick-cut ham)
  • 12 dried lasagne sheets
  • 50g grated mozzarella

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk (you can use a whisk if you want but I prefer to use a wooden spoon). Add the bay leaf then put back over the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring continuously until thickened. Take off the heat again and stir in 50g of the Parmesan/Gruyère, the mustard and the cayenne pepper. Season.

Put the spinach into a large pan with a small amount of boiling water, about 100ml. Cover with a lid and simmer for a few minutes until wilted, careful it doesn’t boil dry. Drain in a colander, then leave to cool. When cool enough to handle put the spinach into a clean tea towel and squeeze out the water. Tip the spinach into a food processor and pulse to roughly chop. Add the ricotta and pulse again to combine. Grate in a little nutmeg and season.

Heat the oven to 200C/180 fan/gas 6.

Spoon a layer of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a lasagne dish (roughly 24x28cm). Remove the bay leaf when you come across it. Top with a third of the spinach and ricotta mixture, then a third of the ham hock. Cover with a single layer of lasagne sheets, snapping them to make them fit if necessary. Repeat the layers with the rest of the ingredients and finish with a layer of lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan/Gruyère and the grated mozzarella. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until browned and bubbling (keep an eye on it and if it is browning too much you can cover with foil).

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Chicken & Ham Lasagne

Posted in Chicken, Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , on 26 November 2019| 2 Comments »

Chicken & Ham Lasagne

This is a good crowd pleaser and you can also freeze it so if you are fewer in number make two lasagnes in smaller dishes and save one for later.

Wine Suggestion: Rich and savoury; this goes really well with southern Rhône whites and our favourite, value option is the Chateau Pesquié Terrasses Blanc, a blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Clairette & Grenache Blanc. With floral hints, layers of citrus and a backbone of stonefruit flavours this is round, rich and fresh in equal measures; just what this dish needs.

Chicken & Ham Lasagne – serves 8

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • ½ a medium onion, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 200ml white wine
  • 100g butter
  • 100g plain flour
  • 500ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 140g sliced smoked ham, cut into strips
  • 200g young spinach leaves
  • no pre-cook dried lasagne sheets
  • 200g ready-grated mozzarella
  • 25g Parmesan, finely grated

Put the chicken in a medium saucepan with the onion, bay leaves and wine. Pour over just enough water to cover, about 200ml. Put a lid on the pan and bring to a gentle simmer, then poach gently for 15 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked. Lift the chicken out onto a board and strain the liquid into a jug.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook for a minute. Gradually add the milk, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition to keep the sauce smooth. When all the milk has been added, continue with the chicken cooking liquid. When all the liquid is added, continue to cook and stir for a few minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Cut the chicken into small chunks and stir into the sauce. Add the ham and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Spoon a third of the mixture into the bottom of a 3-litre lasagne dish. Top with lasagne sheets, then repeat the layers twice more, ending with lasagne. Scatter over the mozzarella and Parmesan and season with black pepper. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the lasagne is soft and the topping well browned.

TO FREEZE: Assemble the dish but don’t bake it. Leave to cool and cover with a double layer of foil, then freeze for up to 2 months.

TO COOK AFTER FREEZING: Remove the foil and cover with cling film. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Remove the cling film, cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 10 or until browned and bubbling.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Veal and Porcini Mushroom Lasagne

Posted in Food, Italian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 30 September 2018| 6 Comments »

Lasagne bianco

This ‘white’ lasagne is a bit different as it has no tomato sauce. Very rich and delicious though.

Wine Suggestion: we think that this dish suits earthy whites and happily suggest the Salwey Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) from Baden in Germany which is a gem, but could also suggest a Vin Jaune from the Jura, or the Jean Fournier Aligoté from Burgundy (one of the few brilliant examples of this grape).

White Lasagne – serves 6

  • 15g dried porcini mushrooms
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 150g pancetta cubes
  • 500g veal mince
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 300ml white wine
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 2 tsp of thyme leaves
  • 8-10 fresh lasagne sheets (or use dried ones)

FOR THE BÉCHAMEL:

  • 50g butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 750ml milk
  • a good grating of nutmeg
  • 100g Parmesan, grated

Put the porcini into a small bowl and pour over enough boiling water to just cover.

Heat a little olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the pancetta and cook for a few minutes until the fat is released. Add the veal mince and cook until it starts to brown. Break it up well with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in the flour.

Chop the porcini and add the the pan with the soaking liquid (leave the gritty bits behind in the bowl). Add the wine, stock and thyme and season. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce is reduced and sticks to the mince. Depending on how much mushroom liquid you added it may take a bit longer.

To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a pan then add the flour. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, then gradually pour in the milk until you have a smooth sauce. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the nutmeg and most of the Parmesan and season.

Heat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.

Layer the mince, lasagne sheets and béchamel in a baking dish, finishing with a layer of lasagne and béchamel. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan and bake for 40 minutes until golden.

(Original recipe by Lulu Grimes IN: Olive Magazine, September 2015.)

 

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Spinach & Courgette Lasagne

Posted in Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 1 August 2018| 1 Comment »

Spinach & Courgette Lasagne

We loved this easy veggie lasagne that celebrates courgettes – one of our favourite summer vegetables. An excellent family dish for mid-week.

Wine Suggestion: We had a Bergerac blanc from Le Tap at hand from our recent holidays. It was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and a touch of Muscadelle and had the right kind of freshness and body.

Spinach & Courgette Lasagne – serves 6

  • 400g spinach
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 100g Parmesan, grated
  • 9 lasagne sheets
  • 100ml double cream
  • 3 large courgettes, sliced lengthways

Put the spinach into a colander and pour over boiling water to wilt it. Leave until cool enough to touch, then squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and soften for a minute. Add the nutmeg and cook for another minute before adding the mascarpone, spinach, half the cream and half the Parmesan. Mix together and season well, then set aside.

Heat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4.

Spread a third of the filling over the base of a 20 x 30 cm baking dish, cover with 3 lasagne sheets, then add a layer of courgettes. Repeat two more times. Pour the remaining cream over and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the pasta is cooked. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Courgette Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 28 September 2017| Leave a Comment »

Courgette lasagne

It’s the season where vegetables seem to come in waves of excess. Here’s a nice weekday lasagne for any of you that are still harvesting courgettes.  Our friend Nicola also dropped by with some home-grown salad ingredients including these pretty nasturtiums.

Wine Suggestion: We think fresh, crisp whites work with courgettes really well and when combined with pasta and cheese naturally lean towards young Semillon, Chenin Blanc or Chablis. To mix it up a bit, however, we tried the Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi from Piedmont in Italy, another good option.

Courgette Lasagne – serves 6

  • 8 plum tomatoes, halved
  • 2 garlic cloves, lightly bashed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • ½ tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 2 leeks, sliced into rings
  • 20g unsalted butter
  • 100g baby spinach
  • 500g courgettes, grated
  • 10 lasagne sheets
  • 250g tub of ricotta
  • 125g mozzarella, torn
  • 50g Parmesan, grated

Heat the oven to 200C/180 fan/gas 6.

Put the halved tomatoes onto a baking tray with the garlic, oil, rosemary and season well. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until soft, then discard the rosemary and remove the skin from the garlic. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a blender and blitz a few times to make a chunky sauce.

Meanwhile, put the leeks in a pan over a low heat, add the butter, season and cook for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add the spinach and grated courgettes, and continue to cook for another couple of minutes to wilt and soften. Set aside.

Layer the ingredients in a large ovenproof dish starting with a layer of tomato sauce, then some pasta, followed by ricotta and vegetables. Repeat until all the ingredients are used, finishing with a vegetable layer. Scatter over the mozzarella and Parmesan, then bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

(Original recipe by John Torode in BBC Good Food Magazine, August 2016.)

 

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Pesto Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 4 April 2017| 5 Comments »

Pesto Lasagne

A really quick and easy lasagne full of Spring flavours. You don’t have to buy fresh pesto from the fridge as this tends to be more oily and makes this dish very rich; we successfully used a jar from a shelf instead.

Wine suggestion: A grassy European styled Sauvignon Blanc which tends to have a longer, if cooler, growing season is a good match. Avoid the big flavoured Sauvignon’s with the kiwi / tinned asparagus flavours that you might typically find from NZ and Chile as these flavours clash a bit. Exceptions to this always exist like the Dog Point Marlborough Sauvignon, but a good Touraine or Sancerre would be our match.

Pesto Lasagne – serves 4 to 6

  • 190g jar of pesto
  • 500g tub mascarpone
  • 200g bag spinach, roughly chopped
  • 250g frozen peas
  • small pack of basil
  • small pack of mint
  • 12 fresh lasagne sheets
  • 85g Parmesan, finely grated
  • 50g pine nuts
  • Green salad & garlic bread to serve

Heat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4.

Put the pesto, half the mascarpone and 250ml vegetable stock in a saucepan. Heat, stirring, until smooth and bubbling. Add the spinach and peas and cook for another few minutes until the spinach has wilted and the peas have defrosted. Add the herbs and season but go easy with the salt.

Put a third of this pesto mixture into the base of a baking dish (approx. 18 x 25cm). Top with 4 lasagne sheets, then repeat with 2 more layers of sauce and lasagne sheets, finishing with a layer of pasta. Mix some milk into the remaining mascarpone to make a sauce consistency, season then pour over the top of the dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and pine nuts, then bake for 35-40 minutes or until brown on the top and bubbling. Scatter over a few basil leaves before serving.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, February 2014.)

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Roast Squash and Spinach Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 6 February 2017| Leave a Comment »

Roast pumpkin and spinach lasagne

Making lasagne is a bit of a labour of love but if you take it in stages it can be assembled in advance and baked when you need it. Always worth the effort in our opinion. This veggie version is particularly good.

Wine Suggestion: we found the Rustenberg Chardonnay from Stellenbosch really matched this dish with it’s masterful balance of oak, fruit and freshness. This is one of South Africa’s classics and one of the best value Chardonnay’s we know. It is picked, crushed and gently settled before fermenting by itself (wild yeasts) and after gentle care in oak barrels on fine lees it is bottled. Only at this stage do they add a touch of sulphur to keep it stable in the bottle. A natural wine without the faults of other proponents of this term.

Roast Squash & Spinach Lasagne – serves 6

  • 750g butternut squash
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g spinach, washed
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • whole nutmeg
  • 6 fresh lasagne sheets
  • 100g Parmesan, grated

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:

  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 400g tin cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tsp light muscovado sugar

FOR THE BECHAMEL SAUCE:

  • 500ml full-fat milk
  • 6 peppercorns
  • ½ onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 50g plain flour
  • 50g butter

Heat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Halve the squash, peel and deseed, then cut into slices about 1cm thick. Toss with the oil in a roasting tin, season well, then roast until tender and beginning to char at the edges – about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the celery and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes & sugar, then leave to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until you have a thick puree. Season.

Wash the spinach and put into a saucepan with the water that clings to the leaves. Place over a medium heat and toss for about 4 minutes or until completely wilted. Leave to cool, then squeeze as much water as you can out of the spinach with your hands. Chop and put into a pan with the butter, then gently heat and toss together so the spinach is coated in butter, season with salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg.

To make the bechamel, bring the milk to the boil in a pan with the peppercorns, onion and bay leaf. Set aside for 5 minutes to infuse, then strain into a clean pan. Add the flour & butter and whisk over a gentle heat until you have a thick smooth sauce.

Heat your oven again to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

To assemble the lasagne start by buttering a baking dish – about 1.4 litres capacity. Put a layer of roasted squash in the bottom followed by a layer of tomato sauce. Place lasagne sheets on top of this, making sure they don’t overlap (you can cut them with scissors to fit your dish). Add a layer of bechamel, followed by a handful of spinach and half the grated cheese. Top with more lasagne, pumpkin, tomato sauce, more lasagne and a final layer of bechamel. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until bubbling and golden.

(Original recipe by Diana Henry in BBC Good Food Magazine, December, 2016.)

 

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Fennel & Roasted Tomato Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 24 August 2016| Leave a Comment »

Fennel & Roasted Tomato Lasagne 1

This is a great veggie dish that has had two outings in our house within a short space of time. It’s also one of the best recipes we’ve found for fennel which we sometimes find a bit uninspiring. We’ve made this in a larger tin, and thus thinner, and also in a deeper one. Both tasted great but we think the smaller diameter deeper dish works better.

Wine Suggestion: a classic match with Sangiovese especially from Chianti in Tuscany. Look out for wines with 100% Sangiovese in this case, even though there are some superb blends out there, as the nature of these wines complements the Fennel and Tomato more. We’ve tried both the Rocca delle Macie Sant’Alfonso Chianti Classico, which is unusally grown on thick clay, and the Selvapiana Chianti Rufina and both complemented the Lasagne excellently.

Fennel & Roast Tomato Lasagne – serves 4

  • 3 fennel bulbs, sliced
  • 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 800g tomatoes on the vine
  • 2tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 150ml double cream, plus a bit extra if needed
  • 100g Parmesan, grated
  • 250g dried lasagne sheets

Heat the oven to 160C Fan. Place the fennel in a large roasting tray, season well and drizzle with 2tbsp of the oil. Place the tomatoes in a separate roasting tray. Season and drizzle with the remaining oil and balsamic. Roast both trays for 30mins

Stir the cream into the fennel and return to the oven for a further 10mins. Meanwhile lightly mash the tomatoes with a fork. Remove the fennel from the oven, grate over most of the cheese and stir to melt – it should make a little sauce that clings to the fennel – add a bit more cream if you need to. Reduce oven temp to 140c fan.

Spoon a thin layer of tomatoes into an ovenproof dish. Top with a layer of pasta, followed by a layer of fennel, then another layer of pasta. Repeat, finishing with a layer of fennel. Scatter over remaining cheese and bake for 45mins until golden and the pasta is cooked. Serve with a green salad.

(Original recipe by Matt Follas in BBC Good Food Magazine, July 2010.)

Fennel & Roasted Tomato Lasagne 2

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A Classic and Easy Lasagne

Posted in Beef, Food, Italian, Party Food, tagged , , , , , , on 17 February 2014| Leave a Comment »

This recipe comes in two parts, with the first an easy to make a Bolognese Ragù which tastes good but is not really exciting or flavour-packed like we like. When created into a lasagne, however, it really sings with a perfect balance of flavour.

The recipe takes a while, but is actually quite easy, especially if you make the ragù the day before. We made two lasagne this time which served eight people over two days amply. Alternately, make a big tray of it for a larger crowd.

Ragù – serves 6-8

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 3 sticks of celery, finely diced
  • 1 leek, finely diced
  • 1 kg minced beef/pork (or half and half)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 200ml white or red wine
  • 2-3 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300°F/Gas mark 2.

Put a large ovenproof casserole on a medium heat and heat the olive oil. Tip in the onion, garlic, celery and leek. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 8-10 minutes or until softened. Turn the heat to high, add the meat and stir to break up, cooking until there are no longer any pink bits.

Add the bay leaf with the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, wine and sugar, and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and cook for about 1 hour in the oven. Season to taste.

Lasagne – serves 6-8

  • 1 quantity of cooked ragù
  • 12-16 sheets of pre-cooked dried lasagne
  • 100g Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 50g Parmesan, grated

FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE 

  • 70g butter
  • 70g plain flour
  • 1 litre milk
  • 200g Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

First make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then whisk in the flour and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the milk and bring to the boil, whisking continuously until the sauce is thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese and mustard, seasoning with salt and pepper, then set aside.

Put a thin layer of ragù in the bottom of an ovenproof dish (20 x 30cm), cover with a layer of the cheese sauce, then add lasagne sheets to cover, in a single layer. Repeat this process, finishing with a layer of pasta topped with cheese sauce only.

Sprinkle over both cheeses and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

(Original recipe from Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen by Rachel Allen, HarperCollins, 2013.)

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Jono & Jules’ Roasted Veggie Lasagne

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on 12 May 2012| 1 Comment »

We’ve made many veggie lasagnes but this is definitely our favourite; really tasty, moist and not too rich or heavy. We had to stop ourselves eating the 6 portions all at once despite only the two of us for dinner. We managed to resist, but only just! Serve with a green salad.

(Apologies for the imperial measurements – Julie doesn’t know the metric recipe for béchamel.)

Roasted Veggie Lasagne – to serve 6

  • 1 pint / 600ml homemade tomato sauce – make your own or use our favourite
  • 3 red peppers
  • 2 aubergines
  • 8 tbsp olive oil
  • dried lasagne sheets
  • handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 125g ball mozzarella, torn

FOR THE BÉCHAMEL

  • 2 oz butter
  • 2 oz flour
  • 1 pint milk

Heat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC. Cut the peppers into large chunks and thinly slice the aubergines. Lightly grease two large baking trays with olive oil. Put the peppers and aubergines on the greased trays and toss with the olive oil and plenty of seasoning. Roast for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile make your béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, then cook for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously stirring. When all the milk is added, keep stirring until the sauce comes to the boil. Turn the heat down and cook until the sauce has started to thicken.

Reduce the oven to 180ºC/fan 160ºC and lightly oil a large ovenproof dish (ours is 20 x 27cm and it fits perfect). Layer a third of the roasted veg on the bottom of the dish. Cover with a third of the tomato sauce. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets (break them to fit – don’t overlap them), then drizzle just less than third of the bechamel sauce over. Repeat until you have used 3 layers of lasagne.

Spoon the remaining sauce over the top, making sure that the surface is totally covered. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella over the top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.

Wine Suggestion: The tomato sauce is acidic so you need to balance this with the wine. Perhaps a light and fruity white with good acidity – we had an off-dry Riesling from Western Australia already open and it worked surprisingly well.

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Mushroom Lasagne

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 13 April 2012| 5 Comments »

We’re always on the lookout for a vegetarian lasagne and this one worked well and tasted great. It’s rich so a salad on the side is all that’s needed. Make on the weekend when you’re in no hurry.

Mushroom lasagne – to serve 8

MUSHROOMS:

  • 35g dried porcini mushrooms
  • 400ml lukewarm water
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp thyme leaves
  • 800g mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced if large
  • 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
  • 4 tbsp chopped parsley

LASAGNE

  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 1 small shallot, chopped
  • 60g plain flour
  • 550ml milk
  • 375g ricotta
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 150g feta, crumbled
  • 170g Gruyère, grated
  • 400g lasagne verde
  • 150g fontina cheese (or mozzarella), granted
  • 50g Parmesan, grated
  • salt and white pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Cover the porcini with the lukewarm water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.

Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. When foaming add the thyme, porcini and fresh mushrooms. Cook for 4 minutes, or until softened and have released their juice, stirring now and then. Take off the heat and stir in the tarragon, parsley and some salt and pepper. Tip into a bowl and set aside.

Use the same pan to make a béchamel. Put the butter and shallot in the pan and cook over a medium heat for about a minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes; the mix will turn into a paste but shouldn’t take on much colour. Gradually whisk in the milk and porcini soaking liquid, leaving any grit behind. Add ½ tsp salt and keep whisking until boiling. Simmer on a low heat, don’t stop stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until thickish. Take off the heat.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta with the egg, then fold in 3 tbsp of the béchamel and the feta. Add the Gruyère to the remaining béchamel in the pan and stir well to get your main sauce.

Pour boiling water over the lasagne leaves (a few at a time so they don’t stick together) and soak for 2 minutes; remove and dry on a tea towel.

To build the lasagne, pour one-fifth of the sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish (about 25 x 35 cm). Cover with lasagne leaves. Spread ¼ of the ricotta mix on top, scatter over ¼ of the mushrooms and sprinkle with ¼ of the fontina. Make three more layers like this, then finish with a layer of pasta covered with sauce.

Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and cover loosely with foil (so it’s not touching the sauce). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling up around the sides. Lift off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Wine Suggestion: You’ve plenty of choices here. You could go for a Chardonnay to complement the rich mushroom sauce or if you prefer red go for something earthy like a Barbera.

(Original recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, Ebury Press, 2010.)

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Party Lasagne

Posted in Beef, Food, Italian, Party Food, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 October 2011| 3 Comments »

This is our classic party dish – so popular that we have to fight to get a taste when we serve it in a buffet! We’ve just made it this weekend for our friends Nicola and Dave’s housewarming. Just to make sure we got some ourselves we made a little extra for the next day. So for all our friends that have asked … here’s the recipe 🙂

Simple Baked Lasagne – serves 6 but easily doubled (which can easily serve 20 or more strangely enough …)

  • 4 rashers pancetta or smoked bacon, finely sliced
  • pinch cinnamon
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 generous handfuls of whole, fresh herbs (use your own mix of sage, oregano, rosemary and thyme)
  • 400g shin of beef, or skirt, coarsely minced
  • 200g pork belly, skin removed & coarsely minced
  • 2 x 400g tins good-quality plum tomatoes
  • 250ml red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly sliced
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, bashed in a mortar & pestle
  • 1 dried red chilli, also bashed
  • 400g dried, ready to cook lasagne sheets
  • 400g mozzarella

For the white sauce:

  • 1 x 250ml tubs of crème fraîche
  • 3 anchovies, finely chopped
  • 2 handfuls freshly grated parmesan
  • a little milk

Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

If you are making a double quantity you may want to cook the meat sauce in two quantities as it will be easier to manage unless you have a very large casserole pot. You can also make the meat sauce in advance which makes entertaining easy –  a simple assembly and cook on the night!

In a large casserole pan slowly fry the pancetta or bacon and the cinnamon until golden, add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Once mixed together add the beef and pork and brown for about 5 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, wine and bay leaves and then bring to the boil. Wet some grease-proof paper and place it on top of the pan and then place a lid on top of this as well to complete the seal. Cook in the preheated oven for 2 hours.

While this is cooking rub the butternut squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and the bashed coriander seeds and chilli. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the sauce. When you remove the sauce check that the squash is cooked and slightly caramelising; if not leave in oven until done.

When sauce is done season and put to one side. Mix together crème fraîche, anchovies, a handful of parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Slowly add enough milk while mixing until the sauce becomes loose and smooth. Don’t make it too runny!

Turn oven up to 200C / 400F / Gas 6. To assemble lasagne rub a large dish, or deep tray with olive oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom (and drape over the sides too if you are using fresh lasagne). Add a layer of meat, a little white sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan and then top with another layer of lasagne sheets. Make a complete layer with the butternut, topping it again with lasagne sheets. Repeat the meat, white sauce and parmesan layers. Finish with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce. Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Cook for 30-35 minutes and until golden. Watch the hordes descend.

[Inspired by Jamie Oliver: Jamie’s dinners, Penguin 2006]

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