Saturday, March 22, 2008

not your usual (nor quick and easy) lasagna bolognese

but oh so worth the time for a sunday dinner or something special. i'm generally not a big fan of lasagna BUT some close friends of ours in germany made this for us several years ago and i've never looked back. john and i have made this several times over the last few years and are never disappointed.

p.s. - i am not a huge fan of pancetta, so often leave it out but some of you out there might really enjoy it.

Lasagna Bolognese (Slow and Delicious)

Ingredients:

Bolognese Sauce:
2 oz. diced pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
11 oz ground beef
4 oz ground pork (I've used ground turkey on occasion and have been happy with it)
4 oz ground italian sausage (I've used veal in place of the sausage or the beef)
1 freshly ground clove
dash of cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 lb peeled and chopped tomatoes (or 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, packed in water)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp sea salt

Bechamel Sauce:
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup cake flour (use all-purpose if you don't have cake flour on hand - no need to make a special purchase)
freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Lasagna:
About 16 sheets of an Italian brand of lasagna noodles (enough to make four layers in a 13x9 inch backing pan)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

The Process:

The Bolognese:
(Can be made a day or two ahead of time - keep in the refrigerator in an air tight container)
1. Make the soffritto - combine pancetta, onion, celery and carrots in a saute pan with butter and cook over medium heat until onion turns pale.
2. Add the beef, sausage and pork to the soffritt0 and increase the heat to high; cook until browned. Sprinkle with spices: clove, cinnamon and pepper.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. If using whole canned tomatoes, break them up as you add them to the sauce.
4. Add milk and season with sea salt. Then turn down heat and simmer for 2 and 1/2 hours. Stir at least every 20 minutes. (If possible, definitely give the sauce the full 2 and 1/2 hours - the sauce changes quite a bit as it simmers.)

The Bechamel:
5. Heat the milk until almost boiling in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. In a separate pan melt the butter with the flour over low heat. Stir rapidly with a spoon. Cook this for 1 minute and then remove from the heat.
6. Slowly add half the hot milk to your butter and flour mixture. During this process stir constantly.
7. Return the milk, butter, flour mixture to low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining milk slowly while stirring - working it into the thickened sauce. Continue to stir until it comes to a boil
8. Season with some salt and grated nutmeg. Continue stirring until the right consistency has developed (until it coats a spoon thickly). Remove from heat.

The Lasagna:
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the instructions (I've used the non-boil kind and it worked out fine). Drain boiled lasagna noodles and rinse in cold water. Lay the individual noodles on kitchen towels, not touching, so they do not stick together.
10. Spread a little olive oil around the inside of the baking pan. Only use pyrex or stainless steel. Aluminum pans don't mix well with the sauce and will case it to taste very acidic. Put a layer of lasagna down first. Layer on a third of the bolognese sauce, then a third of the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat two more times. Top with a final layer of noodles and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
11. Put lasagna on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the top begins to get lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Mmmmmm, mmmm good.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Dal: The very best

Caleb's old roommate John Michael makes kick ass Indian food. He made a million batches of this recipe for our wedding reception, God bless him. This is the only dal I make anymore. 

I personally think that spice batch #4 (especially the fresh curry leaves and asafoetida) is what makes this such a stand out winner. That said, I've made it before without all the right spices and it's still delicious!


Yellow Mung Beans with Fresh Curry Leaves

1 cup of split mung dal (you can use anything...I made some last night with toor dal)
1/4-1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Spice batches

#1
1/4 tsp tumeric
3/4 tsp salt

#2
4-6 chile de arbol(dried chiles)

#3
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

#4
2-3 tbps curry leaves minced (fresh)
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/8 tsp asafoetida (I like more...)

#5
1/4 tsp ground paprika


1) Rinse dal in cold water until water runs clear. Place in pot with 3 cups of water and spice batch #1. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium. Heat until the foam rises, then reduce heat to low. You want a steady simmer. Stir occasionally. If water gets too low, add more....1/2 cup at a time. The consistency should be smooth and slightly soupy. Once finished, fold in cilantro and heat 2 mins more.
Remove from heat and cover.

2) Heat 2 tbps oil (or ghee) in small nonstick pan. Once oil is ready, add spice batch #2. Shake the pan until peppers turn dark red.

Add spice batch #3. The seeds will pop and splutter (30 secs). Watch out! (If they don't, you need to raise the heat.)

Add spice batch #4. Keep stirring until spices change color. (1 min) Don't let it burn.

3) Remove pan from heat. Add spice batch #5. Stir then add to dal. Lightly stir into dal. (i.e. don't go crazy and stir like you're beating an egg.....one quick turn....like mixing a cocktail.)

This recipe does NOT do well when doubling. I make two batches and freeze one. It freezes great.

Spoon dal over a plate of rice for a hearty meal. Top with raita and serve as a soup. Or serve as a side to any Indian dish.

my favorite salad lately

at cheryl's prompting i'm going to share this little tip that caleb's mom gave me. i've had it probably 5 times in the last week. sooo easy but delish.

pour a bit of olive oil over field greens (spinach works, too), mix the greens/oil with your hands til the greens are coated.

pour a smidge of kosher or sea salt in your cupped palm. squeeze lemon juice over it and then sprinkle over greens. mix in.

that's IT!!! if you dont believe me, try it.

you can also mix in whatever you want. i have done almonds or sunflower seeds. and/or parmesan. i prefer to keep it simple

the oil coating keeps the salad from getting soggified by the lemon juice.

i'm never going back to bottled salad dressings.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

How I make my guacamole.

Ada hearts this.

1 ripe avocado
1ish T. lemon juice (I like this better than lime)
2ish T. minced white onion
pinch dried oregano (kinda weird, but makes it yummy!)
1 small garlic clove, minced
salt to taste

Mash this all up with a potato masher and serve.