Lasagne is a Sunday night staple in my house. It's oozy, creamy, tomatoey, cheesiness is exactly what I need to prepare me for another week in the office: comforting and nourishing at the same time.
As a result, lunch on Monday is always a slice of the leftover lasagne from the night before.
Lasagne can require quite a bit of time, not to mention a lot of attention, and with a mile-high pile of ironing to do for work, you might be easily put off making a lasagne from scratch. But it doesn't have to be a long and labourious process, over the years I've perfected my own recipe, which is really tasty, not too unhealthy, and doesn't take long too boot
Despite its relative speediness, this lasagne recipe is completely home-made, and involves no "cheat" ingredients whatsoever. Here it is:
Lasagne (pronto)
Serves 4 (or 2 dinners + 2 lunches)
FOR THE MEAT SAUCE
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500g minced beef
2 cloves garlic, mashed with a pinch of salt
1tsp dried chilli powder
400g tin chopped tomatoes
200ml water
1 beef stock cube
1tbsp oregano (or basil, italian seasoning or similar)
1tbsp tomato puree
pinch salt, to season
black pepper, to season
FOR THE WHITE SAUCE
50g plain flour
50g butter (or margarine)
1 pint milk
Lasagne sheets
Cheddar cheese or mozzarella, to top
Prep: Preheat oven to 190 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan. Add the onions and fry over a gentle heat until softened and glassy (around 5 minutes). Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a further minute.
Turn up the heat to high, and add the minced beef to the pan. Fry until all the meat has browned.
Add the tomatoes, water, stock cube, oregano, tomato puree, salt and pepper to the pan, and simmer over a medium heat until the tomatoes start to dissolve.
While the meat sauce is simmering, we can make a start on the white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan (make sure the pan is big enough to hold 1pint of milk) over a low heat. Take the pan off the heat then add the flour and stir to make a paste (called a "roux"). Put the pan back over the heat and fry the roux for 1 minute or so. Remove the roux from the pan and place it in the fridge for 5 minutes or so to chill.
After 5 minutes, but the roux back in the same pan, and gradually start adding half of the milk, bit by bit, while stirring continuously with a whisk. The idea here is to get rid of all the lumps! Now add the rest of the milk, and put the pan back on the hob over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. After about 5-10 minutes the sauce will be lovely and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
This whole process takes roughly 20 minutes.
Now that your white sauce and meat sauce are both done, you can start layering them up a lasagne dish. I layer mine up like this:
*1/2 meat sauce, spread evenly
*layer of lasagne sheets
*1/2 white sauce, spread evenly
*remaining meat sauce
*layer of lasagne sheets
*remaining white sauce
Finally, cover the top with some slices of cheese, and bung in the oven for 20 minutes. Go and have a sit down!
One of my favourite things about this lasagne, is that it's so much yummier the next day after all the flavours have developed!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Top Ten Lunchbox Essentials
10. Lock & Lock tupperware
This is the kind of tupperware with 4 clips on each side of the tub. Shake it all about, do the hokey kokey and turn around, and your soup will still be inside the tub, and not inside your handbag.
9. Cling film
Making delicious cakes and cookies for a mid-afternoon pick me up is one thing, keeping them fresh (and in one piece) is another. I wrap muffins, cookies, bars, cake slices etc in cling film as soon as they've cooled to ensure they stay fresh in the fridge until they are needed.
8. Vanilla essense
You want to bake cakes? You're going to need vanilla essence in your cupboard. Just a teaspoon of vanilla and some jam, and you've got a delicious Victoria Sandwich. Vanilla essence is also scrum-diddly-scrumptious addition to a simple apple cake.
7. Cocoa
Like vanilla essence, you need cocoa in your cupboard. Choco-chip cookies, chocolate muffins, marble cake, brownies... the possibilities are endless.
6. Canned tuna
When you really don't want to cook, a can of tuna is a lifesaver. Make a juicy Tuna-Mayo Sandwich, or top a jacket potato with tuna mayo mixed with sweetcorn. Or why not whip up a Tuna Pasta Salad?
5. Banana's
Research shows that banana's are one the very best sources of energy, and they provide variety of essential vitemins and minerals needed to keep you healthy. For those of you who prefer fruit, rather than cakes and biccies, to keep you going through a long afternoon in the office, then you can't go wrong with a banana.
And for those of you who do like a sneaky snack, banana's are really useful for baking once the skins are brown and the banana is soft and sweet. There are hundreds of recipes out there for banana based treats, and any one of them is bound to be fantastic. My fave so far is a Banana and Toffee Loaf cake, but I cannot for the life of me remember which cookbook this heaven sent recipe appears in, but I will hunt it down. When I do, I'll bake it for you some time!
Not to mention, have you noticed how inexpensive banana's are?
4. Apples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so they say. Also, you can rely on an apple to arrive at it's destination intact and unsquashed, and for that alone it beats the banana.
Apple's are also rather fantastic in cakes and bakes. Apple-cakey receipes to follow soon.
3. Pasta
Need I explain? When you cannot decide what you have, the answer is pasta.
2. Museli
Why museli, I hear you ask. We're talking about lunches, aren't we? The answer to this mystery is Museli Bars. You could mix nuts and fruit with oats yourself, but why bother? Look in the cereal isle for museli (look for the special offers), and pick a combo you fancy. The results are impressive. Prior to this little experiment, my museli bars were always in the following formula: (Oats + Raisins) + (Sugar + Syrup + Butter) = Museli Bar. But consider this: museli is often a much more complex afair, bringing in seeds, spelt flakes, puffed rice, exotic fruits etc. And it's all put together for you, and it's often cheaper than buying the individual compontents yourself.
1. Fresh or frozen 'soup base' vegetables
A medley of 'soup base' veegtables (including a selection of onions, celery, carrot, swede, turnip, potato...) is a godsend for last minute lunches. Use the veg's as a base for almost any soup you can imagine, or even a stew! For starters, you could try any combination of Vegetable soup, Chicken & Vegetable, Spicy Parsnip, Chilli Veg, Moroccan Chickpea....
The frozen variety is especially useful:
* No waste
* No mess
* Can be used directly from frozen
* Use only what you need, and keep the rest in the freezer for another meal!
This is the kind of tupperware with 4 clips on each side of the tub. Shake it all about, do the hokey kokey and turn around, and your soup will still be inside the tub, and not inside your handbag.
9. Cling film
Making delicious cakes and cookies for a mid-afternoon pick me up is one thing, keeping them fresh (and in one piece) is another. I wrap muffins, cookies, bars, cake slices etc in cling film as soon as they've cooled to ensure they stay fresh in the fridge until they are needed.
8. Vanilla essense
You want to bake cakes? You're going to need vanilla essence in your cupboard. Just a teaspoon of vanilla and some jam, and you've got a delicious Victoria Sandwich. Vanilla essence is also scrum-diddly-scrumptious addition to a simple apple cake.
7. Cocoa
Like vanilla essence, you need cocoa in your cupboard. Choco-chip cookies, chocolate muffins, marble cake, brownies... the possibilities are endless.
6. Canned tuna
When you really don't want to cook, a can of tuna is a lifesaver. Make a juicy Tuna-Mayo Sandwich, or top a jacket potato with tuna mayo mixed with sweetcorn. Or why not whip up a Tuna Pasta Salad?
5. Banana's
Research shows that banana's are one the very best sources of energy, and they provide variety of essential vitemins and minerals needed to keep you healthy. For those of you who prefer fruit, rather than cakes and biccies, to keep you going through a long afternoon in the office, then you can't go wrong with a banana.
And for those of you who do like a sneaky snack, banana's are really useful for baking once the skins are brown and the banana is soft and sweet. There are hundreds of recipes out there for banana based treats, and any one of them is bound to be fantastic. My fave so far is a Banana and Toffee Loaf cake, but I cannot for the life of me remember which cookbook this heaven sent recipe appears in, but I will hunt it down. When I do, I'll bake it for you some time!
Not to mention, have you noticed how inexpensive banana's are?
4. Apples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so they say. Also, you can rely on an apple to arrive at it's destination intact and unsquashed, and for that alone it beats the banana.
Apple's are also rather fantastic in cakes and bakes. Apple-cakey receipes to follow soon.
3. Pasta
Need I explain? When you cannot decide what you have, the answer is pasta.
2. Museli
Why museli, I hear you ask. We're talking about lunches, aren't we? The answer to this mystery is Museli Bars. You could mix nuts and fruit with oats yourself, but why bother? Look in the cereal isle for museli (look for the special offers), and pick a combo you fancy. The results are impressive. Prior to this little experiment, my museli bars were always in the following formula: (Oats + Raisins) + (Sugar + Syrup + Butter) = Museli Bar. But consider this: museli is often a much more complex afair, bringing in seeds, spelt flakes, puffed rice, exotic fruits etc. And it's all put together for you, and it's often cheaper than buying the individual compontents yourself.
1. Fresh or frozen 'soup base' vegetables
A medley of 'soup base' veegtables (including a selection of onions, celery, carrot, swede, turnip, potato...) is a godsend for last minute lunches. Use the veg's as a base for almost any soup you can imagine, or even a stew! For starters, you could try any combination of Vegetable soup, Chicken & Vegetable, Spicy Parsnip, Chilli Veg, Moroccan Chickpea....
The frozen variety is especially useful:
* No waste
* No mess
* Can be used directly from frozen
* Use only what you need, and keep the rest in the freezer for another meal!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Christmas Laziness
My apologies reader, for my short Christmas-induced absence.
December is like a sock drawer when it comes to getting things done. All my good intentions get sucked into an oblivion of laziness. Next year I'm just going to write December off in advance.
I can only hope that you, like me, had the Christmas break off work, and thus required no packed lunches.
New Years resolution - I will make up for lost time. Twice as many recipes in January!
December is like a sock drawer when it comes to getting things done. All my good intentions get sucked into an oblivion of laziness. Next year I'm just going to write December off in advance.
I can only hope that you, like me, had the Christmas break off work, and thus required no packed lunches.
New Years resolution - I will make up for lost time. Twice as many recipes in January!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thermos Adventures, Chapter 1: Soup
Rather naturally I suppose, the first thing I made for the thermos was soup. Seeing as the original function of the Thermos was the transportation of hot beverages, I supposed it would fair well transporting hot soup.
I was feeling a bit chilly, so I decided to go for a warming winter soup: Roast chicken and mushroom. I had a browse around but could not find a recipe that was quite what I wanted, so I concocted my own. Here it is:
Roast Chicken and Mushroom Soup
Serves 2 + leftovers
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped (in place of celery and carrot, I often supplement and/or substitute vegetables like swede, leek, squash etc)
1 tbsp dried rosemary
2 roast chicken breasts (or the same quantity of leftover chicken legs, thighs etc)
150g mushrooms, sliced thickly (I like to use little button mushrooms)
1.5 litres of vegetable or chicken stock (I use bouillon powder)
3 or 4 handfuls of breadcrumbs
I was feeling a bit chilly, so I decided to go for a warming winter soup: Roast chicken and mushroom. I had a browse around but could not find a recipe that was quite what I wanted, so I concocted my own. Here it is:
Roast Chicken and Mushroom Soup
Serves 2 + leftovers
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
1 carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped (in place of celery and carrot, I often supplement and/or substitute vegetables like swede, leek, squash etc)
1 tbsp dried rosemary
2 roast chicken breasts (or the same quantity of leftover chicken legs, thighs etc)
150g mushrooms, sliced thickly (I like to use little button mushrooms)
1.5 litres of vegetable or chicken stock (I use bouillon powder)
3 or 4 handfuls of breadcrumbs
Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pan (I use a Le Creuset Casserole) and add the onion, carrot and celery. Gently fry until lightly golden and aromatic. Add the rosemary and the mushrooms and continue to fry over a low heat until the mushrooms start to sweat.
Add the stock, and simmer (careful, you want a gentle simmer, not a hard boil). After 10 minutes, add the roasted chicken, torn by hand into small chunks, and the breadcrumbs, one handful at a time. The breadcrumbs are to thicken the soup, so you may need more or less, to achieve the thickness you desire. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
Before serving, take a hand blender, and give it a whiz. This will give the soup a creamier texture and a lighter colour.
TIP: separate the soup into 2 bowls, and whizz only 1. This will give you a creamy base, but still some lovely chunks of veg and chicken.
This was DELICIOUS. I actually shocked myself with how good this was.
And, you'll be glad to know, the fiance sat down at lunch to a bowl of lovely warming soup. Amazing.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Hot Packed Lunches without a Microwave: A Solution
I thought it couldn't be done. I supposed that no microwave inevitably meant cold, boring packed lunches. I thought this week would involve a sandwich, a wrap, a sandwich, a pitta pocket, or any of the "variations" in between (not very varied, I know).
I started thinking, there must be some other way to warm food up in the office, besides a microwave? Then it struck me. Change the problem. Instead of "how can I warm this up?", I asked myself, "how can I keep this warm?". I considered the options, and only one presented itself. Thermos. Thermoses can keep tea or coffee warm for hours. But, the long thin canisters designed for hot drinks would be inconvenient for food. I did some research and discovered that Thermos manufacture food canisters as well, with wider bodies and necks so that you can fit food inside, and eat directly from the pot too.
I have ordered one (this one)
and shall be testing it over the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted.
I started thinking, there must be some other way to warm food up in the office, besides a microwave? Then it struck me. Change the problem. Instead of "how can I warm this up?", I asked myself, "how can I keep this warm?". I considered the options, and only one presented itself. Thermos. Thermoses can keep tea or coffee warm for hours. But, the long thin canisters designed for hot drinks would be inconvenient for food. I did some research and discovered that Thermos manufacture food canisters as well, with wider bodies and necks so that you can fit food inside, and eat directly from the pot too.
I have ordered one (this one)
and shall be testing it over the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Packed Lunch without a Microwave
Disaster! The company my fiance works for have relocated and (rather inconsiderately, I think) moved to an office in the City which does not have a microwave. When he told me, I took me a second or two to consider the gravity of this change. No more hot packed lunches.
My whole cooking routine revolves around the format of Dinner for 2 & Lunch for 2. For a moment I felt really rather befuddled about how I could possibly re-engineer all of my recipes for this new format: Dinner for 2 & Lunch for 1... for ONE? But then I recovered.
I realised that you, my readers, may also sometimes have need to whip up a packed-lunch that does not require reheating (picnic, school lunch...). You may be bored of the same old sandwich from M&S, but unable to think of anything more insporing to prepare at home. And so, for this period of time while my fiance is sans le microwave, I shall be thinking up, testing out and posting solutions to the microwaveless packed lunch dilemma.
My whole cooking routine revolves around the format of Dinner for 2 & Lunch for 2. For a moment I felt really rather befuddled about how I could possibly re-engineer all of my recipes for this new format: Dinner for 2 & Lunch for 1... for ONE? But then I recovered.
I realised that you, my readers, may also sometimes have need to whip up a packed-lunch that does not require reheating (picnic, school lunch...). You may be bored of the same old sandwich from M&S, but unable to think of anything more insporing to prepare at home. And so, for this period of time while my fiance is sans le microwave, I shall be thinking up, testing out and posting solutions to the microwaveless packed lunch dilemma.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Chicken Scaloppini Metamorphosis
There are some dinners that don't easily transform into a packed lunch for the next day. One such example is my Chicken Scaloppini recipe.
Scaloppini is, according to Wikipedia, an Italian dish consisting of thinly sliced meat (chicken, veal...) that is covered in flour, sauteed, and served in a sauce (perhaps tomato or wine based). I think this is the kernel reason that I love Italian cookery - complete flexibility, without any pretensions. Fry a bit of chicken and put it in a sauce (whatever you have lying around), and *voila* you have a Scaloppini! Bellisimo.
Anyway, my recipe for Chicken Scaloppini hardly follows even these lax rules. I don't flour my chicken breasts before I saute them (mainly to save time). Although, if you wish to, please feel free, I'm sure it would work wonderfully. Instead, I tend to rub the chicken with a little coarse salt and olive oil, and then grill it in my Le Crueset grillit, which produces gorgeous black char grilled stripes, and a delicious flavour.
The char grilled chicken breasts are then placed in individual oven-to-table dishes, in a sea of delicious tomato sauce, and covered with slices of mozzarella and a topping of your choice, then grilled on high until the cheese melts and sizzles.
The trouble with this recipe is that it simply does not work for lunchboxes. How do I get the chicken, the sauce, and the cheese into a Tupperware pot without the cheese getting muddled into the sauce in a higgeldy-piggeldy mess? It's impossible I tell you.
My solution is to make Chicken Scaloppini for my dinner, and a separate, slightly modified lunch of Grilled Mozzarella Chicken with Tomato Pasta.
Chicken Scaloppini + Grilled Mozzarella Chicken with Tomato & Basil Pasta
Serves 2 for dinner + 2 for lunch
4 chicken breasts, flattened with a rolling pin
500ml jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce, or the same quantity homemade
125g bag of mozzarella
2 mugs of pasta (penne, fusilli...)
Topping e.g. salami, pepperoni, chorizo, peppers, mushrooms, Pepperdew, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves
Pesto (optional)
Begin by heating up your grillit/griddle/frying pan (or whatever utensil you will use to cook your chicken breasts). Next, flatten the chicken breasts with a rolling pin. I do this one at a time, inside a freeze bag to minimise mess. Rub the flattened chicken breast with some course sea salt and brush with a little olive oil. Place each breast in the pan, and cook on both sides, for about 10 mins total (this will depend on how thin your chicken breasts are, so don't forget to check for doneness).
Meanwhile, start boiling the pasta in water (with a little oil and salt added to the water, if you wish). In a separate pan, heat the tomato sauce gently - you want it to simmer, but to never boil.
Slice the mozzarella, and prepare any of the toppings you wish to use.
Place 2 of the cooked chicken steaks into 2 oven-to-table dishes. Cover each in 1/4 of the tomato sauce each. Cover each dish with a layer of mozzarella slices, reserving 2 slices for the other chicken breasts. Place the toppings on top of the mozzarella and place under the grill for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and sizzling.
Spread the two remaining chicken breasts with pesto on one side, and place a slice of the reserved mozzarella on top. Pop them on a tray, and stick them under the grill as well.
Meanwhile, mix the pasta with the remaining tomato sauce. Spoon this into two Tupperware containers. Place the mozzarella chicken on top. I like to add some veg to the tub as well (broccoli florets, peas, french beans, sweetcorn). The veg will get heated up in the microwave with the rest.
Serve the Chicken Scaloppini with some nice veggies.
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Scaloppini is, according to Wikipedia, an Italian dish consisting of thinly sliced meat (chicken, veal...) that is covered in flour, sauteed, and served in a sauce (perhaps tomato or wine based). I think this is the kernel reason that I love Italian cookery - complete flexibility, without any pretensions. Fry a bit of chicken and put it in a sauce (whatever you have lying around), and *voila* you have a Scaloppini! Bellisimo.
Anyway, my recipe for Chicken Scaloppini hardly follows even these lax rules. I don't flour my chicken breasts before I saute them (mainly to save time). Although, if you wish to, please feel free, I'm sure it would work wonderfully. Instead, I tend to rub the chicken with a little coarse salt and olive oil, and then grill it in my Le Crueset grillit, which produces gorgeous black char grilled stripes, and a delicious flavour.
The char grilled chicken breasts are then placed in individual oven-to-table dishes, in a sea of delicious tomato sauce, and covered with slices of mozzarella and a topping of your choice, then grilled on high until the cheese melts and sizzles.
The trouble with this recipe is that it simply does not work for lunchboxes. How do I get the chicken, the sauce, and the cheese into a Tupperware pot without the cheese getting muddled into the sauce in a higgeldy-piggeldy mess? It's impossible I tell you.
My solution is to make Chicken Scaloppini for my dinner, and a separate, slightly modified lunch of Grilled Mozzarella Chicken with Tomato Pasta.
Chicken Scaloppini + Grilled Mozzarella Chicken with Tomato & Basil Pasta
Serves 2 for dinner + 2 for lunch
4 chicken breasts, flattened with a rolling pin
500ml jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce, or the same quantity homemade
125g bag of mozzarella
2 mugs of pasta (penne, fusilli...)
Topping e.g. salami, pepperoni, chorizo, peppers, mushrooms, Pepperdew, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves
Pesto (optional)
Begin by heating up your grillit/griddle/frying pan (or whatever utensil you will use to cook your chicken breasts). Next, flatten the chicken breasts with a rolling pin. I do this one at a time, inside a freeze bag to minimise mess. Rub the flattened chicken breast with some course sea salt and brush with a little olive oil. Place each breast in the pan, and cook on both sides, for about 10 mins total (this will depend on how thin your chicken breasts are, so don't forget to check for doneness).
Meanwhile, start boiling the pasta in water (with a little oil and salt added to the water, if you wish). In a separate pan, heat the tomato sauce gently - you want it to simmer, but to never boil.
Slice the mozzarella, and prepare any of the toppings you wish to use.
Place 2 of the cooked chicken steaks into 2 oven-to-table dishes. Cover each in 1/4 of the tomato sauce each. Cover each dish with a layer of mozzarella slices, reserving 2 slices for the other chicken breasts. Place the toppings on top of the mozzarella and place under the grill for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and sizzling.
Spread the two remaining chicken breasts with pesto on one side, and place a slice of the reserved mozzarella on top. Pop them on a tray, and stick them under the grill as well.
Meanwhile, mix the pasta with the remaining tomato sauce. Spoon this into two Tupperware containers. Place the mozzarella chicken on top. I like to add some veg to the tub as well (broccoli florets, peas, french beans, sweetcorn). The veg will get heated up in the microwave with the rest.
Serve the Chicken Scaloppini with some nice veggies.
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