March Daring Bakers
posted by joeli under Daring Bakers
This month we got to bake lasagna!! As I mentioned before, when the challenged was reveal I wasn't that excited. But then I started seeing pictures of the lasagna role in and it became all I could think about. Here are the details of this months challenge:
The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
It turned out great:
The idea was to make fresh spinach pasta, a white sauce and a ragu. The original recipes can be found by clicking on the links above. I made a few alterations. Since spinach still makes my stomach turn I just made regular pasta. I used two large eggs and whisked them well then very slowly incorperated the flour until I got a ball. Then I kneaded the dough on a surface liberally covered in flour until it was smooth. I let it rest for 30 minutes and then divided the ball into 4 parts. I rolled out each part as thin as I could and then cut it into strips. I then rolled out these strips until they were as thin as I could get. These were my final lasagna sheets. I used them fresh without any pre-boiling and they turned out great. I did have a tiny bit leftover which I cut into noodles and let dry. You can see the sheets were thin enough that you can see my fingers through them:
For my white sauce I used ricotta and mozzarella. Next time I might leave out the ricotta. I was never a fan of ricotta as a child but I thought I might have grown out of it. I didn't. It's just a bit too creamy. However my husband and I loved having a mix of cheeses in the lasagna so I'll think I'll try cottage cheese and mozzarella next time.
I also did a vegetable ragu because I really hate fried ground beef and we didn't have any sausages in. I fried some onions and diced carrots and then added cooked broccoli which I cut into small pieces. I then put in two cans of chopped tomatoes and a small can of tomato puree. I added a bit of lemon juice, sugar, and Italian seasoning. I let it simmer until the tomatoes were reduced. This tasted great but next time I'll boil the carrots first because they were a bit too crunchy which made my husband aware that were vegetables in this dish. He likes vegetables more when he can't tell they are there. I'll also add another can of chopped tomatoes because the lasagna could have used a bit more tomato flavor to balance out all the cheese.
My layers were (from bottom to top): ragu, pasta, white sauce, ragu, pasta, white sauce, ragu, pasta, ragu, cheddar cheese. It held it's shape surprisingly well. My husband, who I don't think has ever been served a proper lasagna in his life, enjoyed it very much but I think he needs time to get used to it before it goes in list of his top 5 favorite dinners. I have an ace up my sleeve though. Next time, I'm going to throw sausage into the ragu and hide the vegetables just a bit better and I know he'll go over the moon for it. As for me, this lasagna was just like the ones I remember from childhood which were cheesy, gooey and utterly delicious. I feel many cravings for this coming on and I will definitely make it again, fresh pasta and all.
Comments
Love your take on the lasagna, especially the mozzarella, ricotta and vegetable sauce. However, you're right, sausage will send your man over the moon..as it did mine! :) Beautiful job!!
I went vegetarian too. I love all the vegetables you put in your sauce. Nice job rolling the pasta so thin, too!
Mmm, your lasagne looks amazing!! Awesome job =D.
Love the vegetarian version.. Amazing photos, you are making my mouth watered.
Looks really good. Great job on the pasta and all.
WOW that looks fantastic!!! I'm actually toying with the idea of getting a pasta maker - my kids just love it and I'm really starting to get back into cooking. Yummmmmmy!
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