Italian Cuisine/Lasagna Advertisement Expert: Silvia - 10/4/2004 Question Dear Silvia, Lasagna is my favorite food in the world and I read in your profile that you have a good recipie for it! Could I please get that recipie? Also, what are the best things to serve with lasagna for an italian dinner? Thank you very much! Get the answer below Sponsored Links Less Than 100 Calories* Special K Bars Are A Perfect Way To Satisfy Sweet Cravings. SpecialKFoods.com.au/HandbagSnacks Healthy Italian Recipes Healthy Italian Lasagne recipe with Ingham fresh Turkey Mince! TodaysTurkey.com.au/ItalianRecipes Huge Wine Sale on Friday 24 Hr Wine Specials up to 62% Off. Order Online Delivered to Your Door wineselectors.com.au/wine-sale
Answer Hello, sorry for the delay in answering to your question but i have been pretty busy these days since I realized I got pregnant! :-) To your question, I can tell you how it might be a complete Italian menu and give you the lasagne recipe. You usually start with an APERITIVO (cocktail). Aperitivo is served about 1 hour before the dinner and it is supposed to whet you... Usually you serve parmesan cheese cubes and olives with light drinks as Martini or Campari, or also analcoholic fruit drinks. The dinner starts with an ANTIPASTO (appetizer). The typical Italian antipasto consists of bread-sticks, sliced cold meats (all fresh stuff) like: boiled ham, San Daniele (raw ham), bacon (fresh, not fried), salami, mortadella and so on... and preserves of chopped veggies under oil or winegar. Then it comes the main dish: PASTA Here's the recipe for my lasagne (Tuscan style) 500 gr of tomato meat sauce that, over here, is called "ragù". How to make it: An important thing, first of all, is finding a good Italian brand of a thick tomato sauce... like Barilla, Pomì or Cirio.
The first thing is always buying good ingredients. Then, put some pork ground meat together with some ground bacon in a pot with some olive oil and butter and let the meat become lightly brown. Then add to it some chopped onion, celery and carrot (the quantity depends on how much sauce you are making). Let them fry and when they are browned a bit add half a glass of red italian wine as Barolo or also white wine as Soave (I don't know the wines you have there, here I could use some cheaper wines than Barolo or Soave to cook because almost all wine is good but once I was in CA and I bought a bottle of "Cooking Wine" and I had to throw it away because it was salted water!). When the wine evaporated (the fire must be low) add the sauce, 2 or 3 cloves, 1 laurel leaf and a bit of grated nutmeg. Let it cook for half an hour (more or less) mixing and adding bouillion cube instead of salt to make the sauce tastier. Add the cube a little at a time and keep on taste the sauce after it melt completely so that you know when you can stop adding it. Taste the sauce often so that you can't make mistakes and adjust it to your tastes. 500 gr of Béchamel Sauce It comes in a box here (choose Italian brands if you can find it). If you can't... How to make it: 50gr butter 50 gr of flour 2¼ cups milk salt to taste ½ tsp. nutmeg
some parmesan cheese Instructions: Melt the butter in a medium pan over low heat until foaming, then add flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. When thick, simmer for 2 minutes. Season well with salt and nutmeg. Add some grated parmesan cheese. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin forming; set aside. As for the Lasagne, I buy the dry ones. You don't need to boil them in water but just need to cook them in the oven. Some fresh lasagna varieties require you to precook the lasagna sheets just slightly by plunging them into boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes to soften them. Drain well on a tea towel. Most can be used as they are; read maker's instructions for specific times. To assemble: Preheat oven 350F; butter the ovenproof dish well. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce over the base and top with a thin layer of béchamel. If béchamel has cooled and become too thick, warm it gently to make spreading easier. Lay lasagna sheets on top, gently pressing to push out any air. Continue the layers, finishing with the béchamel. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside 15 minutes before cutting.
After pasta there's the second dish: MEAT and/or FISH I will give you a recipe for meat here. FILETTO DI MANZO AL MARSALA (Beef Filet with Marsala). Take 2 1/4 pounds filet, tie it, and set it to brown in butter, with a finely-sliced small onion, a couple of fine slices of prosciutto, salt, and pepper. Once the meat has browned and the onion slices begin to separate into rings, dust the pot with a little flour, let the color darken, and then sprinkle it with broth or water (about a half cup to begin with). Simmer the meat until almost done, then strain and degrease the sauce if necessary. Return the meat and the sauce to the fire with three fingers of a glass of Marsala, and gently simmer for a little longer; serve the meat with its sauce, which should be quite reduced. This will serve 7 or 8. You can serve a salad as a side to meat or roast potatoes. Italian salads are plain. There are no sauces in them. It's just a mix of veggies dressed with olive oil, salt and, if you like, also some winegar. After the meat you usually take a break and serve some fresh Italian cheeses as gorgonzola, fontina, caciotta, crescenza, taleggio... Then you have fresh fruit or fruit salads dressed with lemon juice and sugar or white wine if you like. After fruit you have a dessert. One of the most typical one is TIRAMISU'.
Here's the recipe: 3/4 cup powdered sugar 3 cups whipping cream 1 carton (17 oz.) mascarpone cheese 1 tablespoon real vanilla pinch of salt 1 1/2 pkg. imported lady fingers 1/3 cup cold strong coffee 1/3 cup white rum, or your choice of brandy or amaretto powdered chocolate, for sprinkling In a large bowl, lightly beat the mascarpone to smooth it out. Add the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt and using an electric beater, beat this mixture until it is smooth and thickened like fluffy cream. Using a 9 by 13 inch pan, or our medium glass oval baking dish, line the bottom with ladyfingers, flat side down. Combine the cold, strong coffee (use 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder to 1/3 cup of cold water) and the rum in a cup. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush half of the coffee/rum mixture over the ladyfingers. Cover with half of the mascarpone mixture. Sprinkle liberally with powdered chocolate. Add another layer of ladyfingers, and repeat as above. Sprinkle liberally with the chocolate on the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours. This is important, as it blends the flavors and the ladyfingers soak up the liquid. A perfect tiramisu should slice easily, but be a little soft and perhaps even a little runny when served, rather than holding its shape perfectly.
After dessert we have Expresso coffee. Italian coffee is strong and served in small cups. You need a bar-machine to make Expresso or, for plain but always strong Italian coffee, you can use a moka. Lavazza is one of the best Italian brands for coffee. The very last thing we have is a liquor to digest all the food we ate. The most common ones are "Montenegro" "Limoncello" "Cynar" "Grappa" but any Italian liquor you will find that can help digestion is fine. With meals we usually drink sparkling water (as San Pellegrino for example) and wines as Barbera, Barolo, Chianti... too many names... just go to a store and ask for a good Italian wine to go with your dinner. They will tell you what's best according to what you decided to cook. Ok? I hope this is of help! Have a good day! Silvia