Lasagna- Style Baked Ziti with a Twist

(adapted from Real Simple Magazine)

12 oz. ziti (about 4 cups) [Use 1 box of whole wheat penne.]

1 TB olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped [Use the garlic press and 4-5 cloves of garlic.]

½ pound lean ground beef [Since I don’t eat a lot of red meat, I will use ground turkey.]

1 26 oz. jar of marinara sauce

1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (about 4 cups) [1 bag of spinach.]

½ cup ricotta

½ cup grated Parmesan (2 oz.) [ Double.]

1 cup grated mozzarella (4 oz.) [Double.]

[If you prefer, substitute Italian or turkey sausage for the ground beef or chopped broccoli for the spinach.]

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 4-5 minutes. (Probably more like 10 minutes.) Add the beef/turkey, a dash of salt and pepper, and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon until its no longer pink, 5-6 minutes more.

Toss the pasta with the meat mixture, marinara sauce, spinach, ricotta, and ¼ cup of the Parmesan. Transfer to a 9x13-baking dish or 4 large ramekins. Sprinkle with mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan and bake until the cheese melts, 12-15 minutes.

Creamy Eggplant Sauce

For years I thought I didn't like eggplant. It could be that the picky child in me was predisposed to dislike it. Or maybe that my taste buds have changed as I've gotten older. Either way, I have recently discovered that I really enjoy it! We put it on pasta, substitute it for meat, and have even pureed it to make a delicious pizza sauce.

This creamy eggplant sauce can be made with either fresh tomatoes, or a can of diced tomatoes - the former gives a lighter fresher taste to the sauce, and the latter a richer, saltier flavor. The sauce is great served with homemade spicy tagliatelle, but I'm guessing it would go just as well with a box of store bought pasta. The recipe says it serves 4, but I think it could serve at least 6, or maybe 8 if you add bread & salad. We always make a full recipe and freeze half for a quick weeknight meal for later.

Creamy Eggplant Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 medium eggplants (aubergines)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 15 leaves fresh basil, torn
• Salt & Pepper
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled & chopped OR 1 can diced tomatoes
• Freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Directions

• Bring a big pot of lightly salted water to a boil. 
• Peel the eggplants and chop into 1 inch cubes. Boil in lightly salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain, squeezing out excess moisture.
• Put a very large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, thyme & onion and sauté for for about 2 minutes.
• Add eggplant and cook for 6-7 minutes, mashing gently.

• Remove from heat, add half the basil and season generously with salt & pepper (if using fresh tomatoes you will want more salt, and if using canned, less salt).
• Chop eggplant mixture in a food processor until smooth. Be careful...the mixture is very hot!
• Return the eggplant cream to the pan and put back over medium heat. Add the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down, and the sauce is creamy.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente (3-4minutes for fresh pasta).
• Optional: Now is when you will want to pull out half of the sauce if you are cooking for two and saving half for a second dinner. Put into a freezer friendly Tupperware container, and allow to cool before putting the lid on and freezing.
• Drain the pasta and add to the pan with sauce. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water & toss gently.
• Remove from heat, add a few tablespoons of cheese (optional) & remaining basil. Toss gently and serve with more cheese if desired.

Note: If you prefer a spicier dish, you can add more dried chilies before you purée the eggplant mixture.

Making Fresh Pasta: Spicy Tagliatelle with Thyme

I am new to this whole homemade pasta thing. My sweet husband gave me the kitchen aid pasta maker attachments for Christmas. What I've learned? Making homemade pasta takes time and practice. It is most definitely a labor of love. Thus I consider homemade pasta a weekend or special occasion meal.

The first time I tried to make to make homemade pasta it went horribly wrong. First of all, I was cooking for friends. It was Sunday brunch after church (a little tradition we've started in the Guillory house). And we were all starving. The recipe said it would take 40 minutes. And I believed it. Whoops! Oh, and did I mention I decided to make spinach pasta on my first try? Yeah. Because I am me. The pasta was the wrong consistency (which I only know in hindsight). It stuck in the pasta rollers, clumped together, and ended up very thick & chewy. Mmmmm.

At this point I was thinking homemade pasta was totally not worth the effort. Until my sweet husband made a sad face, and I gave it a second try. And it was so much better. Since then I have made this recipe a couple of times, and filled pasta once. It's a really fun project, but still one that takes time. And while the pasta roller is definitely a handy accessory, it's totally possible to make without one (come on Emily...you know you want to give it a try!)

This recipe of spicy tagliatelle goes very well with the creamy eggplant sauce, but the pasta recipe can be adapted very simply by switching out the chilies & thyme for your favorite herb/seasoning, or can be topped with pretty much any type of pasta sauce. The possibilities are endless! 

Spicy Tagliatelle

 

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 2 dried chilies, crumbled
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

Making the Pasta Dough

• Whisk eggs, chilies & thyme in a small bowl.  
• Sift flour into a medium bowl & make a well in the middle. 
  
  
  

• Pour egg mixture into flour. 
• Use a fork to gradually incorporate egg into flour to make a crumbly dough. (I have tried skipping this step...I do not recommend this ;) It will look something like this...

• Knead the dough for a few minutes . It will be a very thick dough, and should not be sticky!  
• Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes or store it in the fridge (wrapped in plastic wrap) until you are ready to roll it out.

Rolling the Pasta Dough

(This is where a pasta roller comes in handy!)

If using a pasta machine:

• Cut the ball of dough into about 6 smaller pieces. 
• Taking one piece at a time, brush the dough with flour.
•  Roll each piece of dough through on widest setting. Fold in half. Run through a second time. Brush with flour & set aside until you've completed rolling all six.
• Switch to next narrower setting - run dough through 1 sheet at a time. Brush with Flour. At this point the pieces maybe getting quite long. If so, you may want to cut each in half.
• Repeat making sheets of dough thinner until you reach the desired thickness. (I rolled through 3 settings.)

OR

If rolling by hand:

• Cut the ball of dough into several smaller pieces. 
• On a floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to desired thickness, brushing with flour along the way.

*Tip: Keep dough generously floured throughout the rolling & cutting process. This keeps the sheets of pasta from sticking to one another.

Allow sheets of pasta to rest for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Cutting the Pasta Dough

This particulate recipe calls for the pasta to be cut as tagliatelle - but feel free together creative with your pasta shapes!

If using a pasta machine:

• Switch to the desired cutting roller.
• Be sure that pasta sheets are floured & not sticking together. 
• Run pasta sheets through cutter one at a time.
• As pasta is extruded, gather noodles gently in your hand. 
• Place pasta on cookie sheet, separating strands as you go.

If cutting by hand:

• On a floured surface, place a sheet of pasta dough.
• Cut using a sharp knife into desired shape.

Cooking Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta cooks very quickly. Be sure not to overcook or it will get chewy!

• Boil in a large pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
• Drain. 
• Top with Creamy Eggplant Sauce or other pasta sauce as desired.
• Serve & enjoy!

 

Storing Fresh Pasta

Unless you're cooking for a crowd, this recipe will make enough pasta for at least 2 meals. It says it serves 4, but in my experience it is 4 large very filling servings. I like to freeze half of the pasta and half of the sauce for a quick & easy weeknight meal. 

• Gather strands of pasta into several small "nests" and place on a cookie sheet.
• Cover & place in freezer.
• In about an hour, remove from freezer, place pasta nests in a ziplock baggie, and toss back into the freezer. 
• When you are ready to cook your frozen pasta, boil in salted water for 4 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Lasagna Rolls - Two Ways!

Well, since becoming lactose intolerant about 5 years ago, I can honestly recall not having eaten anything like lasagna in a very long time.  I miss the gooey cheesiness lasagna offers and the rich red sauce smothered all over it.  Ok, can you tell that I miss it?  A little?

The other day, my good friend Frances Garner and I decided to make lasagna two ways; the classic way and the lactose free way (don't freak out! It worked!).  And we decided to prepare it a little differently, we rolled it.  We had a lot of fun assembling this pasta dish and we received positive reviews on both recipes.   Hope you give them an opportunity to wow you too!  Happy Cooking!

Classic Lasagna 
By: Frances Garner

Ingredients

• 6 lasagna noodles
• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
• 1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce (we used a roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 15 ounces of Ricotta Cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 8 oz package of shredded Parmesan cheese or Italian Cheese Mix

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until pasta is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain and pat noodles with dry paper towels.
• Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat into crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes.   
• Mix together the Ricotta cheese, the egg, 1/3 to 1/2 of the shredded Italian cheese mix, garlic powder, salt and black pepper until well blended.
• Spread just enough of the pasta sauce to cover the bottom of a 8x8 pan (or a 2-quart casserole dish)
• Lay a lasagna noodle out onto a lightly floured work surface and spread with 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle some of the cooked ground beef on top of the cheese mixture and then drizzle the pasta sauce over the meat and cheese.
• Roll noodle and place with seam side down atop cheese in casserole dish.  Repeat with remaining noodles.
• Sprinkle remaining pasta sauce and shredded Italian cheese over noodles rolls.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Ms. Garner Comments:

• It came out being rather tasty.  Mr. K said he liked it just the way it was and not to change it. But I like to tinker with a recipe to see if I can improve it to my tastes.  So next time I think I would like to make the following changes: 
• The Meat: a) add a cup of diced onion and a tablespoon (or 2) of minced garlic to the ground beef while it cooked, b) add a lb of ground Italian sausage to the cooked beef or maybe use half beef and half sausage to give it a deeper flavor from the spices in the sausage.
• The Ricotta Cheese Mixture: a) add a blend of Italian seasonings (dried, fresh or a mix of both) to the Ricotta cheese mixture and/or perhaps a pink of nutmeg for seasoning, b) possible a 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained) to the Ricotta cheese mixture to sneak in a veggie and up the Iron in the dish.

The Lactose Free Version
 By: Sarith Kossowsky

Ingredients

I used most of the ingredients and in the same quantities as Frances uses in her Classic Recipe.  I only substituted the dairy products for lactose free/friendly products. My cheese mixture consisted of the following ingredients:

• Trader Joe's Sliced Yogurt Cheese - this cheese has a mozzarella taste and a provolone texture. It doesn't produce that gooey cheesiness consistency that mozzarella produces when melted.  I use this cheese on hot and cold sandwiches and pizzas.  May not work for all lactose intolerant individuals because it is made from milk.  However, it works for me because of it's yogurt properties.
• Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Rice Shreds, Mozzarella Flavor - I purchase this cheese at Whole Foods and Wegmans.  It has a good taste and texture and will melt.  However, like the yogurt cheese, it doesn't produce the gooey cheesiness consistency.  I will often use this cheese for pizza and recipes that call for shredded cheese.

Directions 

The same directions Ms. Garner explained above also apply to this recipe.  Just substitute my lactose free cheese ingredients for her "cheese mixture."  Because my lactose free cheese options do not spread as easily as the classic cheese mixture, I just layered both alternative lactose free cheeses throughout the process.  

Mrs. K's Comments: 

• I really enjoyed the lactose free recipe.  As previously stated, it had been a long time since I had a hearty, cheesy tasting lasagna.  
• Both recipes froze really well.
• Highly recommend the lasagna roll.  This method provides a cleaner presentation and better portion control.   

 ***More pictures coming soon :)

Asparagus Lemon Pasta with Goat Cheese and Radishes

Hi, ladies! I'm excited to start blogging with all of you - - though I wish we could just have dinner together instead. This will have to do for now! xoxo EDB

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Confession: I'm really weird about pasta. I love fresh pasta - - but only when someone else (like Mary Clark) makes it. I tried to make it from scratch once, just for curiosity's sake. It tasted fine, but since I don't have a pasta maker, it was incredibly labor intensive. After squeezing the egg yolks into a floury mess between my fingers and rolling it out as thinly as I could with my rolling pin (not very), I gave up trying to cut it into straight lines by hand and ended up with boiled dough squiggles instead of noodles. It took forever. When I remembered that prettier, perfectly shaped pasta costs roughly $1 per box, I vowed never to do it again.

To make matters worse, the only kind of pasta that I like from a box is whole wheat penne. Why? I have no idea. I especially dislike spaghetti noodles; I don't think I've ever voluntarily purchased a box. They're just . . . I don't know . . . odd. It's not rational. But please don't ever make me eat spaghetti. I mean, I will eat it and smile if you serve it to me, but I will secretly gag the whole time.

Anyway . . . things I DO enjoy: lemon, asparagus, mushrooms, and goat cheese. And summertime radishes. So here's a recipe that has them all! I added the radishes at the last minute because 1) I had them on hand, 2) I assume they contain some kind of worthwhile vitamin or mineral,  3) they're pretty, and 4) I was really curious about what would happen if I cooked them in butter. The answer is that they turn pale and lose their zing. It's kind of sad, actually. But guess what? As soon as you sprinkle lemon juice on them, their color returns. Interesting, right? If I ever make this again, I'll probably wait until the last minute and toss them in while they're still firm and flavorful.

I started by reading this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen and adapting it for my preferences (no tarragon, more lemon, no spiral-shaped pasta). It's not a perfect recipe. Feel free to improvise!

Asparagus Lemon Pasta with Goat Cheese and Radishes

Ingredients:

1/2 box pasta (your choice)
butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced

1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 in. pieces

5-10 radishes, sliced
zest of 1 lemon (or less, to taste)
juice of 1 lemon, split
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2-3 oz. goat cheese
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 T butter 

Instructions:

1) Boil pasta according to package directions.

2) While pasta is boiling, melt 1T butter over medium heat in small pan with fitted lid. Add mushrooms. Stir until mushrooms are coated, then cover with lid and let cook over med-low heat until soft (~8 minutes).

3) Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt 1T butter over medium heat. Add garlic until fragrant (30 seconds) and shallots until soft (1 minute). Add asparagus and radishes (or wait to add the radishes until the last minute if you like them firm and peppery), cook until tender but still firm (um, 5-7 minutes?). Add lemon zest, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Add 1/2 lemon juice and stir.

4) Drain boiled pasta and return (warm) to pot. Add goat cheese and remaining lemon juice, stir until cheese is melted and pasta is coated.   Add vegetables and serve.

Serves: 2-3