Things I Cooked & Ate

This muffins turned out AMAZING! I made myself a breakfast sandwich (for lunch) with ham, fried egg and gruyere cheese.  Best sandwich I've had in a while.

Lasagna della Casa:

FOR THE RAGU

1  - Large Carrot

1  - Large Red Onion

1  - Large Stalk of Celery

1/4 C. - Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

4  T. - Unsalted Butter (half a stick)

3  oz - Pancetta or Best-Quality Bacon (several thick slices)

1/2 lbs. - Italian Sausage, removed from the casing

3/4 lbs. - Ground Veal or Grass-Fed Beef

1 1/4 C. - Dry White Wine

1  - 28 Ounce Can Peeled tomatoes (preferably the Italian San Marzano variety)

Water or Chicken Stock, as needed to broth out the sauce

Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

FOR THE PASTA

1 1/3 C. - OO Pasta Flour ("Double zero" pasta flour is very finely ground, like a powder)

1/3 C. - All Purpose Flour (plus additional to dust pasta sheets)

Salt

5  - Egg Yolks

1  - Whole Egg

1  T. plus 2 tsp. - Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (plus additional for brushing pasta sheets)

FOR THE BECHAMEL

4  T. - Unsalted Butter

3/4 C. - All Purpose Flour

1  quart - Whole Milk, refrigerated

FOR ASSEMBLY

1/2 C. - Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Semolina Flour, optional for dusting pasta sheets

STEP 1

To start the ragu sauce, peel and finely mince the carrot. (Use a Japanese mandolin, if you have one, to make thin, even slices for mincing.) Peel and finely mince the red onion. Mince the celery stalk.

STEP 2

In a large (6-quart) saucepan set over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil and butter. Add the carrot, celery and onion. Gently cook this “sofrito” until it is tender and translucent, about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Mince the pancetta and remove the sausage from its casing. Add the pancetta, sausage and ground veal to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the meats are evenly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Add the wine and cook until it has reduced completely, making sure you scrape up any cooked bits of meat that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. 

Add the canned tomato, and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. 

Lower the the heat and simmer the sauce for at least 3 hours, until the flavors meld and the meats are completely tender. Add stock or water, as needed, if the sauce begins to dry out and stick to the bottom of the pot. 

STEP 3

While the ragu is simmering, make the pasta sheets and bechamel sauce. 

(We highly recommend making the extra effort to prepare handmade pasta sheets, but the lasagna is still very delicious with store bought noodles.) 

On a wooden cutting board or clean kitchen counter, combine the two flours and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the center and add the egg yolks and whole egg. Whisk together gently with a fork, then slowly cut the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Add the olive oil and some water (if necessary) to the well. 

Working from the center, continue until all the wet ingredients have been incorporated into the dough. (There may be some extra flour that can be discarded, depending on the consistency of the wet ingredients.) 

After the dough has come together into a mass, knead the dough until it is shiny and uniform in texture, about 5 to 7 minutes. Kneading the dough sufficiently activates the gluten in the dough and gives the finished pasta a silky, firm bite. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least 1 hour, until you are ready to roll your pasta. The pasta dough can be made several days in advance, and kept in the refrigerator.

STEP 4

After the dough has rested, remove it from the plastic wrap and temper the dough with a rolling pin or your hands. Using a pasta machine, roll the dough out several times on the thickest setting. Adjust the machine setting to a medium thickness; continue rolling on increasingly thinner settings until the pasta is medium-thin in thickness—if the thinnest setting on your machine is 9, roll it to 7; if the thinnest setting on your machine is 1, roll it to 3. 

Check the thickness of the pasta by blanching a small piece in boiling water. 

Trim the sheets into 5-inch by 10-inch rectangles and dust lightly with all-purpose (or semolina) flour, to prevent sticking. Set aside or cover with plastic wrap until ready to blanch.

STEP 5

For a quicker method– in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, you can combine the flours and salt, make a well in the dry ingredients, add the whole egg and egg yolks and slowly work the dough with the mixer. Add the olive oil and water (if necessary) and slowly knead the dough with the paddle. Once the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, continue to knead the dough with the paddle for 1 to 2 minutes. Wrap and rest in the same manner as the above method.

STEP 6

Fill a large stockpot with water, season with a generous cup of salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Prepare a large bowl with ice water, to shock the pasta sheets after blanching. 

With a large slotted spoon or mesh strainer, gently lower the pasta sheets, one at a time, into the boiling water. Blanch the sheets for about 45 seconds, until cooked to “al dente.” Remove the pasta to the prepared bowl of ice water. Once the pasta has cooled completely, remove the sheets from the ice water, gently pat dry and spread onto wax paper or plastic wrap that has been brushed lightly with oil. The pasta sheets can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours.

STEP 7

To make the bechamel sauce, heat a medium (4-quart) saucepan over low heat. Add the butter, and let it melt. Add the flour to the melted butter and mix until the flour is evenly absorbed. Continue to stir and cook the bechamel sauce base, until the flour begins to thicken and bind with the butter, about 1 to 2 minutes. 

Using a whisk, slowly add the cold milk, a little at a time, until all the milk has been incorporated. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, and cook until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to thoroughly coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. The bechamel sauce can be made several days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

STEP 8

After about 3 hours, check the ragu sauce and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary. Have the bechamel sauce warm and easily spreadable and the pasta sheets in easy reach. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium (7-inch by 11-inch) baking dish or lasagna pan, spread a small amount of bechamel on the bottom. Gently lay a sheet of pasta on top. Spoon about a quarter of the ragu sauce on the pasta. Add another sheet of pasta, another layer of bechamel sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and another quarter of the ragu sauce. Repeat the order of the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta spread with bechamel sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. The assembled, unbaked lasagna can be made in advance and either refrigerated or frozen, until ready to bake.