Lasagna - Home Made is The Perfect Choice!

The best Lasagna is often prepared with passion investing a decent amount of time. It's easy to distinguish a good lasagna from a bad one. If properly done, this dish can be somewhat time intensive and probably not the best choice if you decide to prepare this dish in late afternoon. In my family, Lasagna is a traditional dish that we loved to eat along with a good glass of cabernet wine on weekends.

How to make a lasagna: 

In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and saute meat, onion, and garlic until meat is browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon. Drain pan of fat and add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, then mix in cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt.

Spread a little of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay half the noodles in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Spread half the egg and cottage cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and Cheddar evenly over the cottage cheese mixture. Pour half the meat sauce on top. Repeat layering in same order. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan on top. Bake in center of oven 30 to 35 minutes until sauce is bubbling around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for pan
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 (8-ounce) jar tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (8-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles
2 large eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 (8-ounce) bag shredded

There are many ways on how to make a good lasagna, you can choose what best works for you and apply your own method. I had the great opportunity to assist my mom in the kitchen while preparing a good lasagna for my friends and family.

Pasta with Garbanzo Beans

Pasta e Ceci is an ancient Roman classic dish traditionally served on Fridays or Weekends. If you step into any Roman Trattoria on Fridays, you will probably notice its distinctive scent coming out from the generally rowdy kitchen. I have always been a fan of soups, especially soups that can be prepared in no time with minimal effort.

In actual fact, every corner of Italy has a version of pasta, and Ceci, I will introduce my own version of pasta and Ceci the way my grandma used to prepare it for 12 hungry but enthusiastic folks.

In essence, this family of full-bodied soups, pasta e ceci, pasta e fagioli, or white bean soup, are purees of beans with just enough oil and the trinity of onion, carrot, and celery to help the beans express themselves fortified with pasta or bread, dribbled with raw oil and maybe topped with some Parmesan. To prepare tasty pasta and ceci you do not need necessarily add celery or carrot, it’s fully up to you what flavors you wish to choose as long you don’t forget the main factors which are pasta and Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)

You prepare your soffrito of finely chopped onion, garlic, and shallots, sautéing them gently and slowly in olive oil until soft floppy, and translucent. Then you add a dice of chicken stock (remember no MSG! Don’t mess with this dish), stir, and then 2/3 of your cooked chickpeas for 5 minutes (The peas are usually already salted, so no additional salt is needed). You stir again pour in two glasses of water and wait till boiling point. Lastly, throw in elbows (A kind of pasta, you can use any other type of pasta). Bring the pan to a happy boil, and then leave the pan to bubble away gently for about 7 minutes. Bon appetit!

 

Ingredients for 2 persons:

450g tinned chickpeas (Damage $3.00)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (Damage $0.50)
mild onion peeled and finely diced (Damage $1.50)
diced garlic (Damage $ 2.00)
chicken stock (Damage $1.50)
225g small dried tubular pasta (Damage $ 4.00, it can be used countless times)

Optional

medium carrot peeled and finely diced
stick of celery finely diced
2 tbsp tomato concentrate
small sprig of rosemary
500ml vegetable or chicken stock or water the chickpeas were cooked in with more plain water added to make up the 500ml if necessary.
Parmesan rind
salt and freshly ground black pepper
your nicest oil for on top

Enjoy the freshness and richness of this meal; it’s tasty, healthy, and economical…

The Secret Recipe of Making Chawanmushi

When making chawanmushi, how do you ensure that the toppings stay suspended in the egg custard rather than sinking to the bottom?

If you want the toppings to stay visible above the custard, steam the egg over two times, first steam half of the egg mixture, then place the toppings on top before pouring in more egg mixture to steam for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

The recipe for this dish is very similar to that of Chinese steamed eggs, but sometimes the toppings may differ. The great thing about this recipe is that Chawanmushi can be eaten either hot or cold.

                                                  Ingredients:

2 ½ cups water

1 small handful bonito flakes

80g chicken breast meat

some fish meat

4 eggs

some fish cakes

some ginko nuts

dash of salt

a little potato starch

½ tbsp. water

Method:

1. Bring water to a boil, turn off the heat and steep bonito flakes in the water. Discard bonito when it sinks to the bottom of the pot. Strain the dashi and leave to cool.

2. Cut chicken meat into slices and mix well with seasonings together with the fish meat. Set aside for ten minutes, then scald briefly in boiling water.

3. Beat egg with a dash of salt, add dashi (amount of dashi is double the volume of the eggs) and mix well. Strain mixture into small cups or bowls. Divide the ingredients into the individual cups.

4. Cover with cling wrap and steam over low heat until the egg custard is set.

Lastly, some additional tips:
Do not beat the eggs too hard until the mixture turns foamy
For a smooth texture, stain the egg mixture
To allow the egg to cook faster, preheat the small cups or bowls before pouring in the egg mixture.

Enjoy your meal and don’t forget this recipe!