Friday 10 July 2015

Baked Lasagne


Lasagne is a favourite with a lot of people including our family.  Being a tad lazy I usually just throw it together with my quick fire bolognaise sauce which I have perfected to about 10 minutes preparation and then simmering till required for spaghetti or as a lasagne filling.  

Sometimes however it is nice to spend some time and really develop the recipe.  This is not a quick fix for a week night tea.    It takes a seriously long time to prepare and cook the elements before even considering the putting together and final cooking.   The final dish is most certainly worth the effort and the dish does not hang around long in our household.

Ingredients 

Beef Mince
Vine Tomatoes 
Bacon Lardons
Onion chopped finely
Celery chopped finely 
Garlic chopped finely
Carrot chopped finely
Sugar 
Red Wine Vinegar
Red Wine
Beef stock
Mixed Herbs 
Bay Leaves
White Sauce 
Parmesan Cheese




 It might seem a strange start but wash your mince through in a colander - it helps break up the strands and allows each bit to cook and become crispy.  




 

Lay this mince, which is now quite waterlogged, on a flat baking dish and cook in the oven for 40 minutes (190°c)




 Prepare the tomatoes.  When investing the time and effort in a meal like this it is worth getting good tomatoes (and good quality mince if you can).   Cut the tomatoes in half and lay on another baking tray.  Sprinkle with salt and sugar; these both bring different qualities of taste to the forefront and transform a good tomato sauce into a fantastic one. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until they are charred and very soft -  this may take longer if they are at the same heat as the mince.



Begin to prepare the rest of the sauce.   Fry the bacon lardons till they are turning crispy.  Add the onions and garlic.  I like to get vegetables into the family and have long used carrots, celery and sometimes even peas in dishes like this. None of which are strictly Italian.   Add any carrots and/or celery at this point (peas can be added shortly before putting the dish together)


  
Cover the mix with a large spoonful of sugar followed by a good slug of  Red Wine Vinegar.  These work as a great combination together.
Follow with a large glassful of Red Wine.

Heat through allowing the liquid to be soaked up by the vegetables.  



If the tomatoes are not ready, remove the mix from heat and let the flavours marry together in a fusion of hits and delicious blends.   




.
When the tomatoes are soft and charred add beef stock to the mix with the mince and tomatoes, also add the herbs.  Italian herbs are great, or a mixture of  oregano, rosemary and thyme.  My mother always added a couple of bay leaves to any Italian dish and I follow the tradition popping them in now.






Let the mixture bubble away for a while before layering with pasta sheets.  There needs to be some juice still in the mix but not too much as it will seep out during the baking process.  



 

  


Layer pasta, sauce, pasta sauce, finish with a layer of pasta.







Top the lasagne off with a layer of white sauce (I don't add any cheese yet) which I had also added a sprinkling of mustard powder to add depth to the sauce.   I like to let the white sauce cool slightly before pouring over the top of the lasagne.  




Then finish with lots of grated Parmesan cheese.  This is one recipe where it is worth getting the real cheese and grating over.  Remember though, Parmesan is strong so you may need less than you think.



 Pop back into the medium oven for about 30 - 40 minutes and serve to a hungry crowd

 It is your choice how you serve this, garlic bread, green salad, glass of red wine or even chips but the dish can hold it's own in the centre of your table.  
  


Enjoy and let me know the occasion you might serve this dish.   The wait is certainly worth it but I say again this is  not for a speedy supper, so enjoy the meal.    


Tiggy 


Take a look at my day to day blog on Tiggy Hayes

Sunday 10 May 2015

Rhubarb Pots

Sometimes the seasons dictate our dinner table and when offered some home grown rhubarb it was great to dig out this popular family  recipe, so easy to make and very quick to disappear once served. I like to serve them in individual pots and it gives me  the opportunity to do some fancy decorating but it would do just as well in a large bowl with or without decoration.

This is terribly easy to make and very cleansing after a large meal. This also is quite a good pudding if you are on a diet with a little tweaking.

Ingredients

Butter
Rhubarb chopped
Sugar 
Fromage Frais 
Vanilla Extract
Raspberry and Mint leaves to decorate



Melt the butter in a hot pan and add the chopped rhubarb with a good sprinkling of sugar.  Turn the heat down slightly.

Keep this on a low heat stirring occasionally till the rhubarb is completely soft.  you could add a touch of water or some of the vanilla extract if it becomes too dry.

Allow to cool slightly.
Put the fromais frais (I use this but you could use whipped cream, or greek style yoghurt) in a separate bowl and stir in the vanilla extract.  Add the remainder of the sugar here.






Once cool, add the rhubarb to the fromage frais and then mix well, using a liquidiser. 
  


This can be as soft as you prefer.  Just pulsing the machine allows texture to the pudding.   Share the pudding out into the individual dishes and decorate as you wish.  I chose the raspberry and mint leaf.

It really is that simple.  Leave the pots in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.



Enjoy and let me know what you think.  This is a great pudding and is even enjoyed by my boys who do not like rhubarb, so it has to be cleverly disguised and this works.

Tiggy 


Take a look at my writing blog at Tiggy Hayes  and see what I am up to.






Sunday 25 January 2015

Spanish Chicken



I love Chorizo, it is so versatile and can be used as the main ingrediant in many dishes or as in this Spanish Chicken dish it is the subsiduary ingredient that gives a piquant flavouring to chicken.  This technically is more like Mediterranean Chicken rather than just Spanish but the name has stuck in our house.

This is such a simple one pot meal that everyone loves. You need time and you need to keep an eye on it but there is little effort other than that.  It would lend itself well to being in a slow cooker but I would add the tomatoes earlier and may be a little more liquid (an extra tin or some water)


Ingrediants 

Chicken pieces (I use skinless chicken breast but drumsticks or wings would work)
Olive oil
Chorizo sliced or cut into small chunks 
Baby potatoes (salad or new) 
Onions finely chopped
Zest and juice of an orange
Oregano (dried)
Tin of tomatoes 
Pimento filled Olives (cut in half)



Place chicken in  deep roasting dish with a little olive oil drizzled over the top.




Sprinkle over the chorizo - this determines the heat of the dish - with the children I tend to use the milder versions, but you can ramp up the heat with a spicier version according to the family's taste.


Next throw in the potoatoes and onions - all fairly randomly.  
a good firm shake of the dish will help the oil disperse over the potatoes as well (you can add a touch more oil if you want and if it looks too dry but beware the chorizo will expel plenty of oil as it starts to cook)

Finally add the oregano, librally sprinkling it over the meat and vegetables and finish off with the orange zest (only).  Another good shake will mix the ingredients and then place into a hot oven.  I give it several hours and will turn the oven down as it all cooks and blends together.  (you could just serve after an hour once cooked but the extra time deepens the intensity of the flavours)

This should be checked regularly and turned. Once the chicken is more or less cooked, turn the heat down.   I also tend to cover with foil or a lid at this point to stop any more drying out. I find I need to check it often not because it needs it but it fills the room with such a heady mix of aromas that you get a stream of visitors to the kitchen "what time is tea that smells wonderful"

As the pot starts to dry add the juice of the orange and then the tin of tomatoes and stir well .  This is when to turn it down if you have not already done so and you are looking at about 20 mins to 1/2 hour before serving. 


With about 10 minutes to go - throw in the olives - you can slice these but I tend to cut them in half as the youngest does not like them (the ones he manages to see) and it is easier to pick them out 


Serve straight from the dish and watch how quickly your dishes are cleared, a great warming dish for after a sporting weekend fixture or a telly meal curled up with a steaming bowl full.

Serve some green vegetables or a green salad with this.  I like crispy kale which gives a crispy crackle as you eat.  Empty a bag of Kale on to a roasting dish, cover with a little olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pop in the oven - probably not for long in a hot oven but I put it in the cool oven when I added the tomatoes and leave it there till serving.  Beware the kale is very brittle.





Give this a try and enjoy and let me know how you get on -  Add your own bits, take out the olives and use garlic earlier, switch the orange for a lemon or try it with turkey or game 

love 

Tiggy 


Take a look at my writing blog here at Tiggy Hayes