Lasagna For Friends

Lasagna is one of those great dishes that anyone can make their own. There are so many options for ingredients from spinach to sausage to butternut squash. You can either spend hours making it by reducing a fresh tomato sauce, or you can easily resort to delicious short cuts.

When I don’t have access to ripe tomatoes, I love to fall back on grape or cherry tomatoes. Get the oven heated to about 375/400F. Line a baking tray with foil, arrange the tomatoes, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and let them roast until they’re all popped. If you’d like, you can add a couple cloves of garlic and/or a bay leaf. They’ll take about 20 minutes depending on how fast your oven is.

Meanwhile, sauté some chopped onion and brown Italian sausage (which should be well seasoned already) in a large frying pan. Mix whole milk ricotta with a handful of Parmesan, black pepper and defrosted (or fresh) chopped spinach. Add a bit of tomato paste if you have it to the sausage meat and stir through. Then add the roasted tomatoes and all their juices. Season generously with salt and some red pepper flakes. If you’d like, add some chopped mushrooms now and let it all simmer.

While the sauce is going, heat a couple large tablespoons of butter in a saucepan on medium heat. When it’s bubbling, add the same amount of flour and stir about 1 minute until it’s turning golden. Using a whisk, slowly add about a 1/4 cup of milk at a time. Be sure to whisk out any lumps before adding more. You’ll use about 2-3 cups of milk depending on how much flour/butter mixture (roux) you have. Take off the heat and add a handful of shredded mozzarella.

In a large baking dish, drizzle olive oil so the lasagna sheets won’t stick. Add a layer of your sauce then a layer of pasta. Next add a layer of the spinach ricotta mixture (use all of it) and the rest of the sauce. Next add a layer of pasta and top with the white béchamel sauce. Finish with another handful of mozzarella and Parmesan! Bake for about 30-35 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover with foil. ** The trick is to put the dish on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over!

Serve with buttery, cheesy garlic bread and dig in with family and friends for a truly comforting meal!

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MUSHROOM THREE WAYS

At my Chesham high street market, white button mushrooms are sold in abundance. However, when you buy a kilo you have to find creative ways to make meals for two. I absolutely love mushrooms. They’re so hearty and (I think) a great option for a vegetarian weeknight dinner. So when I have a lot of them, I usually prefer to make them the star. Plus it’s an affordable replacement for meat! All three ways are easy to make with minimal ingredients.

• Mushroom Stroganoff
• Curry Noodles with Mushrooms
• Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce

There are various tips when working with mushrooms. As you know they’re mostly water which is why it’s usually advised not to wash them with water. Rather, it’s better to brush them with a damp paper (kitchen) towel. If you’re making a simple side dish of sautéed mushrooms, then don’t add salt until after they’ve colored otherwise the salt will draw out the water and they’ll be soggy. But if you’re making duxelle (often made for beef wellington), then it’s okay to wash the mushrooms with water as you’ll be cooking them until the water is evaporated anyway.

Right, first up is mushroom stroganoff. It’s more economical than beef stroganoff and can still have loads of flavor if made with good beef stock. The dish was originally created by a French cook employed by a member of the Russian Stroganov family who was raised by Peter the Great. Although there are many recipes out there, according to the Larousse Gastronomique (2009 Edition), beef stroganoff is

“thin strips of beef, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika…sautéed over a brisk heat, then coated with a sauce made by deglazing the pan juices with white wine, cream and thickened veal stock, to which onions sautéed in butter have been added. The dish is served with pilaf rice and sautéed mushrooms”

Here’s a good recipe for mushroom stroganoff on the British Good Food Channel. In this recipe, both onions and leeks are used. To make it completely vegetarian you can go with vegetable stock but if it’s not necessary I recommend beef stock instead. Some recipes call for crème fraiche but I personally prefer sour cream. Also, this recipe uses vodka instead of wine. Unfortunately I didn’t have either available in the kitchen, but it was still tasty! In the end it’s a super fast dish and great for leftovers as well.

Mushroom Stroganoff with Rice

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