You Cannot Beat a Great Lasagna

Lasagna, for all of my cooking skills, has been my Waterloo. For some inexplicable reason, it would come out too dry or too runny, lacking flavor or just ho-hum. We have eaten my attempts, but they were nothing to write about. The only ones that came out somewhat nicely (and which I did write about), were a Short Rib Lasagna and a Lamb and Mushroom Lasagna, but these are not your typical recipe. I have even had a Zucchini Lasagna come out well various times, where I used zucchini instead of lasagna noodles.

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

A couple of weekends ago, we had our friends Heidi and Rich visiting, and Heidi makes lasagna that Rich approves of, and he is Italian. I know she made it for us once a few years ago, but I cannot recall precisely how that one was. I just do not recall. This time, I asked Heidi if she would make her lasagna, and I would watch to see what she did. How did she manage the mixture not being too wet? Or too dry? The one thing I stipulated, as my contribution, was that I would make the lasagna noodles in my pasta machine.

Heidi had never used fresh pasta before, and was very impressed with how easy they were to make (the machine does the work) and how easy to use (they don't need to be cooked beforehand). Aside from that, she said she just made the pasta and meat sauce with both hamburger and Italian sausage, and not too much liquid-y ingredients. 

It came out crazy delicious. However, my husband and I both tend to retain water when we eat something processed with too much salt. She had used three 8-ounce packages of mozzarella slices. She used the better part of a pint of cottage cheese. We added no salt to the sauce (or anything else), which used a 24 ounce sized jar of  Prego brand spaghetti sauce and some tomato sauce and tomato paste. The Prego is something I use often with no particular water retention problem, so I figured it wasn't that. But the cheese? Oh, yes.

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta just out of oven

So, her lasagna was fantastic in the sense that it cut well and held together, was neither too wet or too dry. I wanted to repeat the effort on my own. I went looking at the cheeses, comparing sodium levels. I wanted to use ricotta instead of cottage cheese. The ricotta had nearly half the sodium per same-size serving of cottage cheese. I used only two 8-ounce packages of mozzarella, but I used shredded mozzarella instead of the slices, which had much more sodium than the shredded kind. I chose to add spinach to my lasagna, just because I love how pretty it looks. I have nothing at all against spinach, but you truly do not taste it in lasagna, so it is more for esthetics, to me. 

Sadly, my husband and I both retained water after eating this lasagna, even with more careful eye on the sodium - though not quite as dramatically.

As for the pasta, again I made my own. I used half whole grain Kamut flour, freshly ground, and half semolina flour, with egg and water. I love the great al dente "tooth" of this pasta, which cooks just perfectly in the sauce once all assembled and baked. If making the pasta by hand, you can use all-purpose, 500 grams worth, by weight.

So without further ado, here is my recipe:

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

Lasagna with Homemade Pasta

Makes one very full 9 x 13-inch casserole

MEAT SAUCE:
1 pound very lean hamburger meat
1 pound Italian sausage meat
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, minced
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 (24-ounce) jar Prego traditional spaghetti sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
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LASAGNA PASTA:
280 grams Kamut Khorasan whole grain flour
220 grams semolina flour
2 large eggs + enough water to make 190 grams
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OTHER INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 (8-ounce) packages shredded mozzarella
2 cups / 1 pint ricotta cheese
Parmesan, for sprinkling

MEAT SAUCE: Heat a large pot or Dutch oven and add in the olive oil. Add the hamburger and sausage meat and cook, breaking up into very small pieces, until no longer pink. Add in the onion, garlic, bell pepper & fresh herbs, stirring until vegetables are softened. Add and stir in the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, cover and allow to cook gently for at least a half hour, more if there is time. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

PASTA: Mix the ingredients until they come together into a mass, turn out and knead for 5 to 7 minutes, then pass through a pasta roller to the thickness desired for the lasagna. Cut to the proper size needed and use just as they are.

ASSEMBLY: Have all the ingredients at hand, ready to use. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a large, full-sized 9 x 13-inch pan. Mine is a Wilton pan, with absolutely squared sides. If your pan is sloped, or smaller, all the ingredients will not fit. The picture at right shows the order of the layers as they go in the pan.

Spray the pan with non-stick spray. Place one ladle full of meat sauce into the pan (#1) and spread to somewhat cover the bottom. Layer on three lasagna noodles (#2). Cover the noodles with a layer of meat sauce and then half the spinach over top (#3). Dot on about ⅓ of the ricotta, in small dollops (#4). Sprinkle all over with ⅓ the total amount of mozzarella shreds, and top with another layer of lasagna noodles (#5). Cover this layer with meat sauce (#6), then the remaining spinach (#7). Top with the remaining third of ricotta, in small dollops, and part of the remaining mozzarella shreds. Reserve the rest of the mozzarella aside for the top, later. If there are any remaining noodles, place them on top and coat with a scant layer of meat sauce so the pasta on top will not dry out in the oven.

Sequence of assembly

Once that last bit of meat sauce is on, spritz a piece of foil or a silicone, oven-proof cover with a little non-stick spray and cover the lasagna. Bake it covered for about 40 minutes, until very bubbly. Remove the covering and sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes more. Remove and let set for about 15 minutes to firm up before slicing and serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Something Simpler for a Change

After a series of blogs that have mostly been real sticklers for detail work, I want to change pace here, and assure that while I love testing out these detail oriented dishes, I also love simple ones.

I feel truly bad when I have a friend say that they wouldn't want me to come to their house for a meal because my expectations are likely too high!

What!?!?!? 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Yes, I do a lot of things many people would never try. I understand that. It's just what I do. I get a bee in my bonnet about a new thing and just have to give it a try. But, my decision to go the route of finickiness in a recipe does not in any way mean I cannot appreciate something other, even if simpler. 

When I go to a restaurant, I have had friends say the same, that I must be less than satisfied with the meal. That couldn't be farther from the truth. When I am at someone's house, or at a restaurant, I am able to sit down. I am being served by someone else. That I do not have to do the work, the cleanup, the timing of a meal and all the detail that goes into it, means I am exceedingly pleased and grateful, and patient (including at a restaurant), because I know the amount of work it takes. Even for something much less complicated than a puff pastry dough or pan de campagne.

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

I am of an age that I do not have little ones running around the house or a busy schedule (most of the time). I don't work outside of maintaining a large house and a husband with some health issues. I have the time, now and again, to indulge my curiosity about a recipe. And my interests in food are far reaching. 

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting a woman at the local Farmers' Market, selling pork (pork in many forms, including smoked sausage and pork fat for rendering) and chickens and some turkeys for Thanksgiving. Her name is Amy, and her meats are from Bumpy Road Ranch. While all her meats are home farm raised and delicious, the items that really struck me were her smoked ring sausage and smoked brats. I have never been fond of sausage, though if I was going to eat it, it would be smoked. But this woman's sausage is so delicious I went back multiple times to get more and more. I have looked for more ways to use it, it's just that delicious. 

When I tested the recipe for this "Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal," I used store bought smoked brats. I did this because if it didn't come out tasting as good as I wanted, I didn't want to have used up a package of Bumpy Road Ranch Smoked Brats! I will make it again, now that I know how good this is,  with the good brats! But whether you have access to wonderful local smoked brats, or whether you buy them at the grocery, this recipe doesn't take very long, and it is so wonderfully tasty. 

Also, continuing with my determination to get something healthy into the mix, I added grated cauliflower (in addition to my usual onion, garlic, celery, carrot and green pepper) and used a brown rice mix instead of white rice. It takes an extra step when using brown rice, as it needs to be half-cooked before adding to the pot (meaning, technically, that it's not a "one"-pot meal). Plain white rice could be added instead, at the point where the half-cooked rice is added. 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Serves 4 to 6

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

1½ cups brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water-----------------
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
2 cups grated cauliflower
1 carrot, grated
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
1 bay leaf
1 package smoked brats or other smoked sausage, sliced
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, well rinsed

Set the rice, salt and water in a saucepan, bring to boil, lower temperature to a simmer and time for 30 minutes.

Left all ingredients added and Right all cooked through

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add in the chopped onion, sauté until softened, then add in the garlic and the remaining vegetables as they are prepared, stirring occasionally to soften. Add in the thyme leaves and the bay leaf, smoked sausage, kidney beans and tomato sauce. Pour in the partially cooked rice, along with its remaining water and cook for at least another 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through. Mixture may be slightly saucy.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.