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Costa Mesa Italian Recipe of The Week
Making Lasagna
The key is to make sure your pan is big enough to fit all of your layers.
To make lasagna:
1 For meat sauce, crumble ground beef into large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown until meat loses its pink color. Spoon off and discard fat.
2 Stir in spices. Cook until soft.
3 Press tomatoes and juice through sieve into meat mixture; discard seeds.
4 Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to simmer unitl sauce thickens. Set aside.
5 Add lasagna noodles to boiling salted water, allowing noodles to soften and fit in the pot. Cook until al dente.
6 Drain noodles and rinse with cold water. Drain a second time and stack individually over pot rim to prevent sticking. Set aside.
7 Grease 12 X 8 inch baking dish with butter. Spread noodles in a single layer on clean kitchen (not paper) towel. Pat noodles dry.
8 Arrange three lasagna noodles in single layer, overlapping slightly, in bottom of baking dish.
9 Spread half of meat sauce evenly over noodles. Spread half of cheese over meat sauce in an even layer.
10 Repeat layers once.
11 Arrange three lasagna noodles on top. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly on top of lasagna to completely cover lasagna noodles.
12 Bake in preheated oven as directed. Let stand before serving.
The spices are the big differentiator between one type of ethnic cuisine and another. Garlic and herbs are common in Italian cooking.
To prepare fresh garlic:
1 To peel garlic cloves, trim ends.
2 Slightly crush cloves under flat side of chef's knife blade; peel away skin.
3 To peel whole head of garlic (also known as a garlic bulb), drop into enough boiling water in small saucepan to cover. Boil for 5 to 10 seconds. Remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Plunge into gold water; drain. Peel away skins.
4 Arrange peeled cloves together in a small pile on cutting board. Chop with chef's knife to desired size. Hold the point of the knife down with the left hand. Raise and lower the knife handle with the right hand, using enough pressure to cut through the garlic, working in an arc from left to right and back again.
The boiled garlic should not require a
great deal of pressure to cut or mince.
5 For minced garlic, sprinkle peeled garlic cloves with coarse salt before chopping and adjust the size of the arc to make more frequent cuts and smaller pieces. The extra abrasion from the salt will make it easier.
To prepare fresh herbs:
1 Tear off leaves of fresh herbs; discard stems. Rinse leaves; pat dry with paper towels.
2 Place herbs in 1-cup measuring cup.
3 Insert blades of kitchen scissors into cup. Hold scissors perpendicular to counter and snip herbs repeatedly with kitchen scissors. Rotate the cup as you snip.
4 To make a chiffonade, tear off leaves of fresh herbs; discard stems. Rinse leaves; pat dry with paper towels.
5 Stack several leaves one on top of the other on cutting board, with largest leaf on bottom. Roll up stacked leaves jellyroll style.
6 Slice roll into 1/4-inch-thick slices; separate into strips.
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