Lasagne

Lasagne

One of the most recognisable dishes in the world, the Lasagne Bolognese is one of Italy's most famous and popular exports. It is comfort food at its finest, a deep flavoured Ragu layered with some beautiful Pasta and a deliciously rich Bechemel Sauce, baked until bubbly.....fantastico! This is not a traditional Italian Lasagne Bolognese but is instead, my take on the classic. I've added Porcini Mushrooms to give a more earthy flavour while the Cherry Tomatoes on top help to cut through the rich Ragu beautifully.

For The Meat Sauce/Ragu:

5tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
250g Pork Belly (diced)
400g Minced Beef
400g Minced Pork
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
1 Large Carrot (finely chopped)
1 Celery Stick (finely chopped)
2 Large Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
150ml White Wine
25g Dried Porcini (soaked in hot water for 30 mins, keep the juice, dice)
80ml left over Porcini soaking juice
10 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
500g Tomato Passata
2 Bay Leaves
1tsp Dried Oregano
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For The Pasta:

200g Italian "00" Flour (or Extra Strong Bread Flour)
2 Eggs

For The Bechemel:

50g Butter
2.5tbsp Flour
550ml Milk
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

50g Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
12 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1. Add the Oil to a saucepan over medium heat and add the diced Pork Belly. Fry for 5-6 minutes and add the Onion, Carrot, Celery and Garlic. Sweat for 5-10 minutes until soft.Turn the heat up, add the Beef and Pork mince, season well and brown for 7 minutes.

2. Add the Wine and cook off. Add the diced Porcini, 80ml of the soaking juice, Passata, Cherry Tomatoes, Bay Leaves and Oregano. Season well, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid (leaving a small gap for steam to escape) and simmer for 1 and a half hours, stirring occasionally. If the sauce is too watery you can take off the lid and reduce for 10-15 minutes.

3. Next make the pasta. Tip the flour onto a clean table, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs in. Beat with a fork and then gradually work in the flour from the sides. Bring together with your hands and knead for a few mins until it become springy. Cover with Cling Film and put in the fridge for 30 mins.

4. Next , the Bechemel. Melt the butter in a saucepan and when its melted add the flour. Stir for 2-3 mins being careful not to let it burn. Slowly add the milk and whisk continuesly while heating until is thickens (approx 7-10 minutes) Season well, remove from the heat and set aside.



5. Remove the Pasta from the fridge, unwrap and flatten. If rolling by hand you're aiming for the thickness of two playing cards (Really Thin!) A pasta machine works best and its good to have a few helpers for the lower settings! Roll to the thinnest setting working down from the highest (Roll through the highest setting 5 times first, folding in half between each roll, to improve the texture) Dust with flour when necessary. Cook in well seasoned boiling water for 1 minute and drain well. Lay out on a table to avoid them sticking together.

6. Remove the Bay Leaves from the Meat Sauce and take it off the heat. Lightly oil the bottom of your baking dish and begin with a light layer of Meat Sauce, followed by Bechemel, a little Parmesan and a light seasoning of Salt and Pepper. Top with a layer of the Pasta and repeat the process until the dish is almost full. Finish with a good layer of Bechemel and a good sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese. Season again and finish with halved Cherry Tomatoes around the edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees C. Serve with some good Garlic Bread.

Variations

This is another great base recipe that can easily be adjusted to taste. Add extra vegetables to the Ragu for a more nutritious hit or add some Basil to get that quintissentially Italian flavour. One layer of Prosciutto in the middle of a Lasagne can also work great and dotting little balls of Mozzarella in the layers before baking makes for a lovely surprise! Dried Pasta can also be used instead of fresh if time is short.

Chicken and Quinoa Stew

Chicken and Quinoa Stew

This dish came about when I got home a few weeks ago and realised I hadn't gone to the shop to get the necessary ingredients for the nights dinner. My laziness kicked in and instead of going back out, I just had a root in our well stocked press and threw this together. It worked out extremely well and I've made it plenty of times since, tweaking slightly each time until I got to this beautiful, warming dish.

Don't be put off by the Chilli in the recipe, it is removed before serving so just gives the dish a lovely warmth especially important during these freezing evenings. Feel free to buy a whole Chicken and joint it instead of just buying the legs. The legs are usually cheaper and have a better flavour but a whole Chicken will be better value if you use it for a stock.

Serves 4

4tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
2 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Stick of Celery (finely chopped)
1 Large Carrot (finely chopped)
4 Free Range Chicken Legs (Cut into thigh and drumstick)
6 Tomatoes (roughly chopped)
1.2 Litres of Good Chicken Stock
2 Dried Bay Leaves
1 Chilli (pierced a few times)
1tsp Dried Oregano
1tsp Dried Thyme
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
150g Quinoa
4 Small Sweet Potatoes (cut into 2cm cubes)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1. Saute the Onion, Garlic, Celery and Carrot in the Oil over a medium heat for about 7 minutes or until softened, season as soon as you add to the pan. Add the Chicken and brown lightly all over before adding the tomatoes. Season and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add the Stock, Bay Leaves, Pierced Chilli, Oregano, Thyme and Vinegar and season. Bring to the boil, cover almost fully with a lid (leaving a little gap for steam to escape), turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. 

3. Add the Quinoa and Sweet Potatoes, season and simmer with the lid off for a further 20-30 mins until the Quinoa and Sweet Potatoes are tender. Remove the Bay Leaves and the Chilli and serve with some good bread.

Variations

As with any stew, feel free to add or take away any veg you like/dislike. if you would like a thicker consistency you could coat the Chicken in Flour/Cornflour before adding to the pan or just cook for 15 mins longer with the lid off to allow it to reduce.

Pizza

Pizza

Probably Italy's most famous export, the Pizza has always been synonymous with the Peninsula. In the rest of the world it is a particular favourite of Children and Teenagers but it is a somewhat distorted dish that they love so much. When I first went to Italy, the first thing I had was a Pizza and it bares little resemblance to what we get in the freezers of our supermarkets and even what alot of the Pizza delivery companies make (we wont mention any names!)

The main problem with making proper Italian Style Pizza is very few of us have a wood fired oven. This really makes a massive difference as the Pizza cooks in two minutes or less rather than the 15-20 minutes recommended on the back of the box! I've been trying out different techniques of Pizza making for the past year to try to get as close to the real thing as possible and this is what I've settled on. Don't be afraid to change the topping to whatever you prefer!

A Pizza Stone is a very handy piece of equipment if you plan on making a lot of Pizzas. Preheat it at the highest temperature for an hour or so and it'll really help your Pizza along. You can also use a Pizza Tray (most have holes in the bottom to help it crisp) but these dont work aswell and you may need to adjust cooking times.


For the Dough

(Makes 4 Pizzas)
500g Italian '00' Flour or Extra Strong Bread Flour
320ml Warm Water
2 x 7g Sachets of Dried Yeast
1tbsp Golden Caster Sugar
1tbsp Fine Sea Salt
5tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil


For the Tomato Sauce

(For 4 Pizzas)
500g Tomato Passata
1tsp Dried Oregano
1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
3tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper


For the Topping

(to taste)
Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Parma Ham/Prosciutto (torn)
Skinless Sausage (cooked and crushed)
Peppers/Chilli (finely chopped)
Basil Leaves (torn)
Mozarella Cheese (thinly sliced)
Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat Oven to its highest Temperature with the Pizza Stone inside

1. First make the dough. Add the Yeast and Sugar to the warm water and stir well. Leave to rest for a few minutes until foamed on top. Meanwhile sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the Oil followed by the Yeast mix. Bring together and once a dough has formed tip out onto a well floured board. Kneed for 10-15mins until smooth and elastic. Put into a fresh mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

2. Meanwhile make the Tomato Sauce. Put the Passata into a pan and bring to the boil, add the Oregano, season and allow to reduce by half. Add the Garlic and Oil and stir well until combined (1-2 minutes) Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Tip the Pizza dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for 1-2 minutes. Split into 4 equal parts. Wrap the pieces your not using in cling film and chill immediately (or freeze to keep fresh). Roll out the dough for as many Pizzas as your making (to the approx size of your stone), take the stone out of the oven, sprinkle some Polenta or Semolina on top (or a little flour if you dont have any) and place the Pizza on top. Top with 3 heaped tablespoons of the Tomato Sauce and put into the oven for 3-4 mins until browned and looking almost cooked. Do this for as many Pizzas as your making before laying all the par cooked Pizzas out on a table.

Turn the oven down to 160 deg C. (you may need to open the door for 10-20 seconds to allow the temperature to drop, get the extractor on first though and watch out for kids/pets!!)

4. Top the Pizza(s) with the toppings of your choice, finishing with the Mozarella Cheese (I used Parmesan, Prosciutto, Homemade Fennel Sausage and Mozarella). Sprinkle with a little freshly ground Pepper and (optionally) drizzle with a little Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Put back into the oven (the stone isnt necessary at this point so you can cook as many as your oven will take together) for 3-5 minutes until the cheese has melted into a wonderful gooiness! 

5. Remove from the oven, cut and enjoy!

Variations:

Top with anything you like! The method is the main point of this post so top with whatever takes your fancy!

Beans on Toast

Beans on Toast has got to be the saviour of Irish Mammies! What's simpler than heating a tin of beans and spreading over some well buttered toast? Kids and adults alike tend to love it and in my house growing up, beans could accompany any dinner imaginable. Admittedly I was never a big fan of Baked Beans, I always found them a little too mundane and boring so I decided to come up with a Bean recipe that would allow me to enjoy these little beauties.


This recipe is slightly spicy but is delicious as a snack on its own or (as in our house) as a side dish with almost anything else! The Prosciutto imparts its lovely flavour on the beans and really lifts the dish, dont be tempted to use standard ham, it wont be the same!





Serves 3 as a snack or 5 as a side


2tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Large Onion (finely chopped)
1 Red Chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
2 Slices of Parma Ham/Prosciutto (torn)
500g Tomato Passata
1 Tin Cannellini Beans (drained)
1/4tsp Paprika

1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

3 White Baps





1. Add the Oil to a pan over a medium heat and add the Onion, Chilli and Garlic, season well with Salt and Pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the Parma Ham/Prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the Passata, Beans and Spices, season and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until beans are tender.

3. Meanwhile, cut the baps in half and brush the inside with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, sprinkle with a very small amount of salt and place cut side down on a very hot griddle pan for 4-5 minutes until toasted.

4. Butter the Baps and serve with the Beans.

Variations:

Dont be afraid to try any different herbs/spices that take your fancy and really tweak this dish to your own taste. Although the Prosciutto is one of the main flavours of this dish it could be swapped out for some smoked rashers for an extra flavour burst. Finely Chopped Carrots, Celery or Courgette could also be added at the start to add to the Veg count. Make this one your own!