Tag Archives: comfort food

Recipe Wednesday #4: Val’s Homemade Lasagna

Posted on by
Reply

This week’s Recipe Wednesday comes from Casserole member Val. She sent us this “Completely Homemade Lasagna” recipe, which even shows you how to make the pasta yourself! Considering the dreary fog we’ve been having in London recently, this recipe is much needed, pure comfort food. Thanks for sending it over Val!

If you want your recipe featured in Recipe Wednesday, send it to hello[at]casseroleclub.com with a little bit about why you chose that particular recipe and a photo if you have one! 

Without further ado – Buono Appetito!

Val’s Completely Homemade Lasagne

Ingredients

(for the pasta)

200g ‘00’ grade flour

2 x large eggs

1 tbsp of lukewarm water

(for the Bolognese) – to be fair, I like to make the Bolognese the day before my lasagne so that all the flavours merge beautifully.

1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

200g pack of turkey mince meat (you can substitute the turkey mince for any you like or even adapt to vegetarian)

2 tins chopped tomato

Garlic (as much or little as you dare)

1 x onion

500g mushrooms

1 x pepper (I use a green one, but any will do)

A large glass of red wine

A little vegetable stock

3 x heaped tablespoons of mixed herbs (oregano, rosemary & basil)

(cheese sauce) – to be honest I cheat

White sauce granules

Cheese to flavour

200ml water

 Directions:

1.       Make up the pasta, gently folding in the eggs with the flour, add water then knead for 3-4 minutes until you get a firm dough; wrap this in cling film and leave in the fridge for approximately ½ hour.

2.       Now for the sauce, chop up your vegetables as finely or chunky as you wish; heat up your oil and add your garlic

3.       Drop in the onions and sweat them off until they become transparent

4.       Brown off your mincemeat and add in the wine, tomato, herbs and stock

5.       Drop in your peppers and mushrooms and leave until thickened, then prepare your cheese sauce

6.       Take out the pasta dough from the fridge, take off a ball and wrap the rest in a damp towel to prevent it drying out whilst you roll out (or if you have one, pass through your pasta machine) until around 1 playing card thick and then cut into a square large enough for your dish

7.       Layer cheese sauce, Bolognese sauce, pasta sheet (repeat as you make additional sheets of pasta)

8.       When your lasagne has been constructed (I like 3 layers on mine), sprinkle cheese on top of the last layer of cheese sauce and bake in the oven on 200c for around ¾ hour (longer if the sauces have been left to go cold), until the dish is cooked through and your cheese has left a lovely brown layer on top

9.       ENJOY

Recipe Wednesday – #1 Natasha’s Chicken and Tarragon Casserole

Posted on by
1

We WANT your recipes!! We now (amazingly!) have over 800 people signed up on the Casserole site – the vast majority of whom are Cooks eager to share meals with their neighbours. Given we have such a community of kitchen aficionados, it seems silly not to take advantage of all that knowledge and start sharing your favourite recipes with the rest of Casserole and beyond. From now on – every wednesday is Recipe Wednesday, where we’ll feature one delicious recipe from a Casserole member. If you have a recipe you’d like to share, send it to hello[at]casseroleclub.com with the Subject Title “Recipe Wednesday” and it may just appear on the blog! If you have a picture of your tasty dish, or an anecdote about why its a favourite, send that along as well!

Photo by WordRidden

To kick things off, we thought we’d start with the recipe Natasha cooked up for The Times article a few weeks ago – a scrumptious and moorish sounding casserole, perfect as the weather gets colder. So send in your recipes and enjoy this first of many recipes to come!

Natasha’s Chicken and Tarragon Casserole 

Ingredients

  • Two chicken breasts on the bone
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 85ml white wine
  • 5 tbsp double cream
  • 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
  • Ground black pepper
  • Sea salt

Method

Cut the onion into eight wedges, cut the carrots widthways into sizeable slices and crush the clove of garlic.Lightly fry the onion wedges and carrot slices with the garlic until they start to brown, and place to one side. Lightly fry the chicken breasts until brown all over. Place the chicken breasts in the centre of a baking dish and arrange the vegetables around the edges. Boil the chicken stock, mix with the white wine and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook in a preheated oven at 200C for 40 mins, turning the chicken and vegetables after 20 minutes. Separate the tarragon leaves from the stalks. Warm the double cream and stir in the tarragon leaves as it starts to simmer. Serve the sauce on top of slices of chicken breast and vegetables.