Lasagna Bolognese

Weston and I had a lovely trip throughout Italy last year for our 2nd anniversary, from Rome to Positano, from Monte San Savino to Florence, from Pisa to Maranello. The focus was heavily on food, and nowhere did we find better food than in tiny walled towns in Tuscany.

Our trip was a huge eye opener for me, especially when it came to Lasagna. My Mother's recipe for lasagna included cottage cheese and loads of Mozzarella, so I had always made it with cottage cheese and loads of Mozzarella. But, then I discovered what Lasagna in Tuscany really is like. It's not as heavy and cheese laden, the pasta is always best when it's fresh, and there wasn't a trace of cottage cheese anywhere, just a lovely nutmeg flavoured Béchamel (Besciamella) sauce.

Since we had a new pasta machine, I decided to try and recreate what we ate in Italy, and Mario Batali's recipe for Lasagna Bolognese was my guide through the whole process. I plan to add this to our repertoire more often. There's nothing like a delicious lasagna to make you feel comforted!




Ingredients

Ragù:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 pound veal, ground
• 1 pound pork, ground
• 4 ounces pancetta, ground
• 1 8-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Béchamel:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 3/4 to 1 pound fresh pasta sheets, about 7 by 4 inches, or dried lasagne noodles blanched for 6 minutes and refreshed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Oil for brushing
  

Cooking Instructions:

Ragù:

In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, heat the olive oil.

Add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are translucent.

Add veal, pork, and pancetta to the vegetables, and brown over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together.

Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, thyme, and 1 cup water, and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 11/2 hours (if the ragù becomes too thick, add a little more water or wine).

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Béchamel:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the flour, and whisk until smooth.

Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until it is just about to boil. Add the milk to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is very smooth.

Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg.

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with melted butter or oil, and layer in the following order from the bottom: ragù, pasta, béchamel, and grated cheese (saving about 1 cup béchamel for last topping), making 3 to 4 layers of pasta, finishing with ragù, béchamel, and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled over the top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops With Warm Apple Slaw

If there's anything I love more than pork chops, it's pork chops paired with apples or sage. I came across this recipe by Elie Krieger, and adapted it just a bit to work with what I had. I cut the time down on this recipe by very coarsely grating the apples and carrots, but if you have the time, julienned vegetables would be most appropriate in this dish. I also loved the rice vinegar, so feel free to go a little liberal with the amounts.

Ingredients:

• 6 tsp chopped fresh sage
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (3/4-inch) bone-in pork loin chops (about 8 ounces each)
• 1 large onion
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, cut in 1/2, cored
• 1/2 head green cabbage, cored
• 3 large carrots
• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Combine the sage, garlic, 1 tsp of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Rub this mixture all over the pork chops and let the chops sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion, apple and cabbage and julienne the carrots (very thin sticks).

Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan until hot but not smoking. Add the chops and brown on both sides, 2 or 3 minutes per side. Remove.

Carefully wipe out the pan. Heat the remaining tsp oil over moderate heat and add the onion, apples and remaining tsp fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is soft and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, carrots, vinegar and tsp salt and continue cooking until the cabbage and carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and return the pork chops to the pan burying them in the vegetable mixture. Cover and cook just until the pork chops are just slightly blush in the center, 5 to 7 minutes longer.

To serve, arrange the warm slaw on individual plates and top with a pork chop and pan juices.

Black Bean, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Soup

I've been in the mood for sweet potatoes lately, and have found some interesting soup combinations out there online. I found one recipe for black beans and sweet potatoes, and another for sweet potatoes and sausage. I thought combining the two would make for some interesting flavours. I garnished the soup with cilantro and sour cream, and the addition added a fresh flavour to the slightly spicy and sweet base.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 can black beans
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 a medium onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped to 3/4" dice
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• sour cream for garnish

Directions:

Brown Italian sausage in skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Set aside.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, over medium high heat, add oil and add onions, cooking until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, cinnamon, cayenne, and broth, heating through.

In a small bowl, stir together tomato paste and 1 tbsp water; stir into pot with the Worcestershire sauce. Add the black beans and sweet potatoes and simmer soup, covered, for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

When potatoes have cooked through, add 2 cups of the soup, potatoes, beans, onions and all, to a blender and puree. If you have a stick blender, just puree 1/4 of the soup. Add the sausage back into the soup, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.