Lasagna

This may be "Canadianized" lasagna, but it is my favourite type because it's what I grew up with. I was always happy when Mom made this for dinner.

To make 1 large and 1 mini-lasagna:

Sautee:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 chopped yellow onion, on the larger side
• Several garlic cloves or 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• Approx 2 lb ground beef (this could be even less, compensating by making it saucier - it's all based on preference)

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add ground beef and cook until browned.  Add water if needed, but be sure to pour off any fat/grease before adding sauce.

Add:

• 1 Tbsp parsley if you have it, or I used a mix of basil and oregano
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cans of pasta sauce (I used a pre-spiced "garlic and herb" sauce, 28-oz size can)

Let the sauce and meat simmer for 5 minutes. Separately, blend:

• Approx 2 cupes cottage cheese
• 2 beaten eggs

Also prepare:

• 1/2 lb lasagne noodles, cooked and drained (half a package)
• 1/2 lb sliced mozarella cheese - or as desired
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna(2).  Layer in this order, spreading through the two pans:

• thin layer of meat sauce
• half of the noodles
• all the cottage cheese mixture
• half of the mozzarella
• half of the remaining meat sauce
• remaining noodles
• remaining meat sauce
• remaining mozzarella
• grated Parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  I prefer my cheese topping browned and crusty so I end up leaving it in closer to the 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Gnocchi

I married an Italian... with many relatives that live nearby... and for that I am eternally thankful. Gnocchi are small light bites of pillowy goodness - potato dumplings loaded with cheese and spicy meat sauce. We bought the packaged ones from the store once, but they are nothing like Grandma's.  She, in her unique grumpy-grandma style, refused to teach us how to make it like she learned in Italy.  So, we decided to try it on our own and give her a run for her money. 

This is one of those "by feel" recipes that I normally avoid, but after several successful productions (with rave reviews from even the Italians) I am happy to say that we can add this to our cookbook. 

• 3 large russet potatoes, boiled and peeled
• 1 egg
• a generous pinch of salt
• flour as needed (probably up to 2 cups)

The most important step of the recipe is this: you must put the potatoes through a potato ricer.  When they're cool enough to handle and peel, take portions of the hot potatoes and squish them through.  This will make the finished gnocchi light and fluffy. 

Add the salt, egg, and mix briefly together. Add most of the flour and mix, again briefly.  Do not mix this dough for long - it should come together but not be completely homogeneous.  Add flour until the dough (still warm!) is pliable and doesn't completely stick to your hands. Essentially it has to be enough like a pasta dough that you can roll it out into long snakes. You want to add the minimum amount of flour necessary, as the finished product will be more dense if there is more flour in it. 

Cut the snakes into small pieces and squish halfway with a fork (I find the dough should be sticky enough that it would cling to the fork in an annoying way... so flour the fork to keep this from driving you crazy).  This creates grooves for the pasta sauce and cheese to cling to. Grandma is very good at quickly whipping them off the fork... we will need a lot more practice at this.

Prep a pot of boiling water, well salted, with a bit of oil to keep them from sticking. Cook them like pierogies - drop several into the water, remove right away once they float to the top (this will be 10-30 seconds or so).  Taste to confirm that the dumpling is light and cooked fully through.

Load with cheese - parmesan, friulano, romano - anything white and sharp and tasty.  Add your favourite sauce - we usually take something that's good from a jar or can and add sauteed onions, peppers, and pieces of Italian sausage from a local butcher.

Enjoy with a salad and ciabatta bread.

Focaccia Bread

I don't know where this recipe originally came from - if anyone recognizes it feel free to let me know!

Mix together:

• 1 tsp. white sugar
• 1 cup water (warm but not too hot)
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• Let the yeast poof, then add 2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine dry ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup white flour
• 1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Place in a large oiled bowl, cover with damp cloth and let it rise for about 20 minutes.

Punch the dough down, pat into a flat rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  Top with oil, parmesan/mozzarella, or various veggies, herbs, and other cheeses.  This is your chance to get creative!  You can go "basic" with rosemary and sea salt, then eat it with oil and balsamic vinegar, or jazz it up with banana peppers and asiago cheese.  I like to poke the dough all over with my finger so that the finished bread has dimples in it.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Thoroughly enjoy it with balsamic vinegar / olive oil or other dips.  Happy eating!

No-Knead Bread

Crispy crust! Large air holes! Perfect for dipping in oil and vinegar!  No kneading! 

This bread rises well and takes minimal effort to bake, other than wait times.  This version seems to be floating all over the internet.

• 3 cups flour (don't overfill or shake down; you don't want flour packed into measuring cup)
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• Any other mix-ins you like (for example - in the bread below, I added a handful of flax seeds, sunflower seeds, some rosemary and a taste of parmesan)

Mix all together and let it sit in a bowl covered by plastic wrap. Leave it on the counter for 18-20 hours. Pour onto a well-floured piece of parchment paper and form into a round loaf.  Cover it with the previously used/moist plastic wrap and let it rise a bit while the oven is preheating to 450 degrees. Put a Dutch Oven (Le Creuset or some other oven-safe ceramic pot with a tight-fitting lid - I use a Calphalon ceramic pot) into the oven while it's preheating.  When the bread is ready to go, pull out the pot, gently place the parchment paper with bread into the pot, and bake for 30 minutes. Take off the lid and bake for another 15 minutes. Your bread should look and smell amazing. 

For the lightest bread, use all-purpose (white) flour. I often replace 1/3 or even 1/2 with whole ground wheat flour.  If I want to be really healthy, I'll do a full whole wheat version with slightly less flour and let the loaf rise well before baking... or else it is really dense. Put it very gently in the pot so the air bubbles don't burst inside. I'll usually put craisins and flax seeds in that one to provide some nice textures in there.