Lasagne al Forno

I already knew all lasagnas aren't created equal, but I didn't know that in some areas, lasagna is completely different from what I know. I have grown up with the American style of lasagna with the layers of red pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, ground beef, etc... Apparently, there is a whole other world of lasagna that is "lasagne" and does not have red sauce and is made with a white bechamel sauce.

This didn't feel like lasagna to me. It felt like a completely different dish, kind of like the difference between fish fingers and chicken fingers; similar concept but not the same.

That said, I did like this lasagne, I just have to recognize it as a completely different style than what I'm used to. I loved that I could use regular lasagna noodles and not precook them! I hate having to precook lasagna noodles and keep them from sticking while doing the layers. I have worked out a system for that, but it's still nice to not have to do that.

I made a few changes with the recipe. I did not use chicken livers for this recipe. I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I also would shred the mozzarella cheese next time to make it easier to spread evenly. I had difficulty layering the cubes and I could get it much more even if it was shredded. I also had to stir the ragú approximately every 45 minutes because otherwise the meat was blackening and I was worried about it drying out. Lastly, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over each layer of mozzarella cheese.

This wasn't as difficult as it sounded. The best thing to do is to set out all your materials you will need so you are not rushing about. I actually chopped up everything before starting to cook. I just then added things as needed. I also set out my pots and pans ahead of time. This made it so much more relaxing for me since I didn't have to stress about getting things chopped in time to go in, while worrying about the things already cooking becoming overcooked. I'm not the fastest cutter, so this is definitely the way to go for me.

This recipe is from Delia Smith, a British cookbook author, who seems to be to the English what Julia Child is to the Americans.

Lasagne al Forno

1 lb. lasagna noodles
14 oz. mozzarella (diced)
4 oz. Parmesano Reggiano cheese

For the Ragú Bolognese:
12 oz. (350g) ground beef
12 oz. (350g) ground pork

200g pancetta
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic (chopped )(I double this)
630g Italian chopped tomatoes
6 tablespoons tomato purée
6 fl. oz (175ml) red wine
whole nutmeg
salt
freshly ground black pepper
15 g fresh basil

Bechamel Sauce:

6 cups(1.5l) milk
6 oz. (175g) butter
4 oz. (110g) flour
salt
pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6 fl. oz (175ml) heavy/double cream

1. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion and fry for about 10 minutes.
   
2. While the onion is cooking, chop the pancetta. The best way to do this is to roll it up, cut lengthwise then across.
   
3. Once onion is softened, add the pancetta and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Place the pancetta and onion in a 6 quart dutch oven, add another tablespoon of oil to the sauté pan and return to heat.
   
5. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Transfer to the dutch oven, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and return to heat.
   
6. Add the ground pork and brown.
   
7. Once pork has browned, add it to the dutch oven.
   
8. Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C, Gas Mark 1)
   
9. Place dutch oven on burner and stir ingredients together. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, red wine, salt, pepper, and about ¼ nutmeg, grated. Stir all ingredients together and bring to a simmer.
   
10. While bringing mixture to a simmer, tear half of the basil leaves from the stem, tear or chop the leaves and add them to the pot. As soon as the mixture is simmering, place in preheated oven. You do not need to cover the mixture.
11. Here the recipe says to let simmer for 3 hours before giving a stir, I stirred every 45 minutes.
    
12. When liquid has reduced to a concentrated sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper and add the remainder of the basil.
    
13. About 20-30 minutes before the ragú bolognese is due to come out of the oven, begin the bechamel sauce.
14. Place the milk, butter, flour, salt and pepper, and garlic in a large saucepan. Heat oven medium-low heat and whisk until simmering and thickened. Reduce heat as low as possible and simmer for 10 minutes more.
    
15. Sieve the sauce into a large bowl and add the cream. Adjust seasoning and add another quarter of nutmeg.
    
16. Preheat oven to 350°F (Gas mark 4, 180°C).
    
17. Now for the assembly. Organize your materials in the order in which you will use them, with the baking dish on a cookie sheet (to catch spillage) in the middle.
    
18. Spread a thin layer of the ragú bolognese on the bottom of the pan. Cover with ¼ of the bechamel sauce, diced mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Add a layer of lasagna noodles (They don't need to be cooked, the large amount of sauce cooks the noodles). Repeat in this manner, finishing off with a top layer of cream sauce and a coating of Parmesan cheese.
    
19. Place in oven (be sure to keep the baking sheet underneath!) and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Pizza Pockets

a.k.a. calzones.

I can't remember how, but one day last week my boyfriend and I had started talking about calzones. He had never had one before, only a pizza flavored Hot Pocket®. I was remembering my experiences with a place in college that had calzones that never tasted as good without a few drinks beforehand, they were just way too greasy. I don't remember liking calzones because of that, but I thought I'd try to make some for my boyfriend.

I found some recipes that called for bread flour, but I'm almost out of that from making the crescent rolls yesterday. I found a recipe that did not call for bread flour and went for that one.

I ended up having an impromptu dinner party when a couple of friends popped in while I was making the calzones. It's a good thing the recipe makes two large calzones that easily serve four people because I felt kind of rude making dinner and not offering them any. They both loved the calzones and thought the basil was a very nice addition. They both asked about the filling and were surprised to learn I had made the crust too. One friend even commented that I'm becoming quite the Suzy Homemaker. The other commented about how she's happy to help us finish off dinners any time. I think I can live with a reputation of being a good cook!

My boyfriend has a larger than average appetite, so he could use one whole calzone on his own. For the rest of us, a regular calzone can feed two. This was a really simple recipe to make and I'll definitely make it again. I left out the olives.

Real Italian Calzones

2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup mozzarella cheese
1½ cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup diced pepperoni
½ cup sliced black olives
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 egg, beaten

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the water. Add 1 tablespoon oil, the sugar, and salt.
   
2. Mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour until thoroughly mixed and a soft dough forms.
   
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes or until elastic and no longer sticky. Coat a bowl with the rest of the oil, place in dough, coat, cover and allow to rise for about 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
   
4. While the dough is rising, beat the egg in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until needed.
   
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
6. Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll into two circles.
7. Fill half of each circle with half of filling mixture. Fold in half and seal edges by pressing with a fork.
8. Brush the top of each calzone with the beaten egg and place on a greased cookie sheet.
   
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.
   
10. Serve with warm tomato sauce.