Lasagne Bolognese with a salad of Hazelnuts, Brussels Sprouts, and Apple

Ahhh...lasagne.  Comfort food doesn't come much better than this.

Though admittedly I haven't always been a huge fan.  We never made it in my house growing up, though we did buy various frozen versions of it.  I was served it in cafeterias and at friends' houses, but it was always American lasagne.  Americans like to use ricotta as a layer, a cheese I find unpalatable in texture, too much like paste.  If they don't use ricotta then they use some other cheese like goat's cheese or cottage cheese.  But the baked pasta, the flavourful sauces all made up for this, and I was happy enough to eat it.

It wasn't until I visited my aunt in Australia that I first tried a true lasagne bolognese and was blown away.  Instead of cheese as a layer, you use a bechemel sauce (a white sauce) and the difference for me was astounding.  Everything melted together in one gorgeous whole, and I was in awe.  I asked my aunt for the recipe for the white sauce, for how she came up with the idea to use it and she looked at me as if I was nuts.  "It's just a white sauce!" she exclaimed.

Oh.  Right.  A few months later I was back in the UK and Michael suggested we make some lasagne.  We turned to Joy of Cooking for the recipe and have continued to use the recipe there for lasagne bolognese ever since.  It is a long, laborious recipe, but as it lasts our whole family at least two meals, it is worth it.  We make it about once a month.  I made it yesterday as I needed an easy dinner to heat and give to the kids tonight before guising (what the Scots call trick or treating when they don't want to sound American).

This time I made a double batch of the bolognese sauce, as it is the long, drawn out sauce to make, and paired the lasagne with a salad that uses raw brussels sprouts.  I was doubtful the sprouts would work as a salad, but they really, really did.  I love brussels sprouts in any form, I confess (I even have a song for them which my children now sing too), but it's nice to have lots of different ways to prepare them.

But, first things first, the meat sauce.  As I said, I was doing a double batch so I got everything out.  The meat was fresh out the freezer and most of it was bison from Fife.  It's free range and allegedly leaner than beef, though if you are looking to cut fat out of your diet, this is not the recipe to try.

I put the oil on to heat and threw the bacon in in frozen lumps.  No, I didn't thaw it all the way out first.  Yes, I'm sure it would be better if I did.

Once I had browned it enough for it to smell it tastily browning...

I put in the chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

They were cooked until they'd softened a bit...and I wasn't feeling patient...

So I threw in the 2 big lumps of meat still frozen.  I actually like it going in frozen for this, as you slowly shave off the cooked parts from the frozen parts and it means you don't tend to end up with any accidental large lumps of mince.

Finally everything was looking un-thawed and browned,

So I added wine, stock, and tomato puree.  Not that much tomato goes into a real bolognese sauce, according to Joy of Cooking, contrary to all I'd heard before.

Once that was stirred in I got it all to simmer and added a little milk.

Then I let it simmer for two hours, continuing to add milk every so often, until finally it looked like this.  I froze half, and set the other half aside for the lasagne.

Now for the white sauce.  Nothing too fancy.

So I melted some butter.  Mmm...

To which I added flour.

And stirred it a couple of minutes.

I slowly added milk, stirring, until I had added all that was required, then I threw in celery leaves, carrot pieces, a halved onion, and a couple of cloves.

While stirring it regularly as it heated to just below simmering, I started on the sprouts.  I love them on the stalk, but generally I just love seeing them and all their nutty goodness.

I cut off the ends, and this lady peeled off the excess leaves.

Keep whisking, it's thickening now...

Good, the sprouts were all done...

And the sauce was ready - I strained it to get out the veggies and lose any accidental lumps.

Then to this was added seasoning.  The recipe says to add nutmeg here, but we tend to grate it onto everything as we layer the lasagne.

Now for the spinach pasta - I like to sneak greens in where I can.

Basically I threw it all in the food processor with the dough blade: eggs, thawed spinach, flour, and a bit of salt

And held onto the machine for dear life until it produced this.

Then I let it rest for a while during the school run.  Only a half hour is needed.  It makes it easier to roll out the longer you leave it.  I then divided it into four pieces, one for each layer.


First into the dish went a layer of meat sauce,

Then I rolled out one piece of pasta dough to roughly the size of the dish.  Precision is not essential.

Someone else made their own version.

I transferred the rolled out pasta into the dish.

Then went a layer of meat sauce and white sauce.  My son claims he does not like white sauce, so I stirred them together to change the colour.

Then I added nutmeg, seasoning, and parmesan.

Then another layer of pasta

And another mixed layer, then another set but on top of the final piece of pasta

I just put white sauce and parmesan with nutmeg and seasoning - no meat sauce.

It was all wrapped in foil and put in the oven for 40 minutes.

While it was in there I roasted some hazelnuts.

Then rubbed them in a tea towel to get off most of the skin

And used the food processor to thinly slice the sprouts.  I think the recipe's author was under the illusion that the reader would want to slice these thinly by hand.  Aye, right.

Onto them went some lemon juice and olive oil

As well as these: some thinly sliced apples.  I love apple season.

I then took the foil off the lasagne and put it back in to brown further.

While I put the nuts on the salad

Sometimes I like it a bit more brown than this, but hey, it was good and everyone ate it.  I should have taken a photo of a slice of it, but I was too busy, you know, eating it.  My family got some too.

I'll type up the recipes later, but if you are dying to look at one of them now, the bolognese sauce is here http://joyofcooking.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/bolognese-sauce-ragu-bolognese-page-307/,   I can't easily find the others online just now.

Brussels Sprouts, Hazelnuts & Apple Salad (adapted from River Cottage Veg Every Day)

Ingredients

100g hazelnuts

300g very fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed

juice of one lemon

3 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

2 tart eating apples 

Method

Preheat oven to 180.  Scatter nuts on baking sheet and toast until fragrant and browned, about 8-10 min.  If they are skin-on, wrap in a clean tea towel then rub vigorously to remove most of skins.  Set aside.

With slicer attachment, slice Brussels sprouts thinly, then place in bowl.  Pour over lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to coat leaves evenly.  

Quarter and core apple then thinly slice in food processor.  Combine with sprouts and toss lightly.   Scatter nuts over the top and serve.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

30g smoky bacon bits

1 large carrot, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

500g buffalo

175 ml beef stock

160 ml white wine

3 Tbsp tomato puree

375 ml whole milk

Method

Heat olive oil over medium low heat and add bacon.  Cook until it starts to release its fat.

Add veg and soften them, about 5 min

Add the meat and brown it.

Stir in wine, stock, stock and tomato puree.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, for 2 hours, occasionally adding milk 2 Tbsp at a time until all has been added.  Season to taste.

Lasagne Bolognese

Ingredients

1 batch Bolognese sauce

Plenty of Parmesan cheese

1 batch spinach pasta (recipe to follow)

40g butter

40g flour

875ml whole milk

1 small onion, halved

1/2 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

4 celery leaves

2 whole cloves

Freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  

Add flour, stirring until well blended.  Cook for a couple minutes.

Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Stir in onion, carrot, celery leaves and cloves.

Simmer gently, stirring often, until reduced by one third, about 15 minutes.

Strain the sauce into a bowl and discard vegetables.

Preheat oven to 180

Spread a thin layer of meat sauce over the bottom of the dish.  Cover with a layer of pasta.  Spread a thin layer of bechemel over the pasta and top with a thin layer of meat sauce.  Sprinkle over parmesan and freshly grated nutmeg and top with another layer of pasta.  Repeat the layers, reserving enough bechamel sauce to cover the final layer of pasta.  Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes

Remove foil and put back in oven to brown.  

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Spinach Pasta

Ingredients

170g frozen spinach

500g plain flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Method

Place flour and salt in food processor with dough blade and pulse to mix.  Squeeze water from spinach and add along with eggs, then pulse until forms a ball of dough.  Add olive oil if needed.  Set dough aside for half hour to rest before rolling out, keeping it covered to prevent it drying out.

Samoas...in the shape of pumpkins...sort of...

Continuing on with the theme of American grocery store items, let me express my great fondness for shredded coconut.  Not desiccated coconut, as you find in virtually every store here, but the saturated kind that they recommend you keep in the fridge after opening.  It is ideal for making macaroons and also for the king of all girl scout cookies, the Samoa.

Why the cookies have that name I have no idea, but I grew up in an area that called them Samoas and not "Caramel Delights" as some regions did.  If you are not from the USA, they are shortbread rings covered with caramel, coconut, and chocolate.

I have made Samoas before in the ring shape, but was not ready to go through that process again.  I briefly entertained the idea of making bars, but I also felt I should be doing something with a Halloween theme for the kids.  Upon remembering I was in possession of a pumpkin cookie cutter, I realized I was set.

I lined my baking trays in preparation.  I used to feel holy about avoiding silicon trays, opting instead to line baking trays with paper.  Then I read the packet of baking paper and saw that it's lined with silicon.  Oops.  Still prefer it to floppy trays and weird floppy liners.

I also like to roll out cookie dough between sheets of paper to prevent adding too much flour to the dough and so nothing gets stuck to surfaces or rolling pins.  I did take photos of me making the dough, but I lost them. It's just a basic shortbread, nothing fancy.

I was all excited and sure they would be an amazing success when I put them in...

And then they came out looking like this.  Oh.  Vaguely pumpkin shaped, but not really what I'd had in mind.  Next time I should just do the Joy of Cooking recipe for rich roll cookies.  Thanks, Liz, for reminding me how wonderful it is!

I then spread out the glorious coconut and started to toast it.

Then comes the part that fills me with fear: caramel.  I really have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to caramel.  I get all panicky and don't like to attempt it if there are any kids nearby.  I only had one with me this time, and he was well out of the way on my back, so nervously I set to work getting everything ready: sugar, butter, and cream.

Ok, into the pan goes the sugar.

Ooh - coconut looks good, better take that out before I burn it.

Ack!  Ridges!  Some parts are clear, some are deep amber (what I want all of it to be) and some haven't even melted yet...WHAT IS GOING ON!

Ok, that's kind of better, but will someone make that big lump go away?!!

NOOOO, I THINK IT'S BURNING!!! ABORT ABORT!!!

And into a sinkful of water it went to stop it getting any hotter.

So I added butter and the caramel all solidified around the whisk.  Great.  Still, I kept stirring and eventually it all melted.

Then I added cream until it looked like this.

This was my end result.  It tasted kind of like a soft version of the inside of a Heath bar or Daim bar.  So not utterly like the caramel of Samoas, but not bad either.

After setting about a third of a cup or so aside, in went the coconut

And it was stirred until it was a big, gloopy mess.  Now onto assembly.

Some pure caramel gets smeared onto each cookie...

Which helps the gloopy mess to stick.

Mmmm...but don't eat any yet!

Then you flip them over and paint some melted chocolate on with a pastry brush (or dip them - it's up to you).  I am a big fan of melting chocolate in the microwave on a very slow heat.  This way, if you get summoned out of the room on some parenting emergency, you do not need to worry about it being left on the heat; the timer on the microwave will run out, and the chocolate will patiently wait until you have time for it again.  Just don't try to do it on high heat or in one long blast - regular stirrings are kind of important.

Once that's hardened, turn them back over

And carefully pipe decorations onto them.  At this point, everyone was home and in the kitchen, and Robert was on my back now awake and kicking.  I was under pressure as a couple had already been stolen by my husband who didn't realize I was going to decorate them even further.  Precision was never going to happen with all this going on, so while I tried at first to make some vaguely jack'o'lantern type piping decorations, eventually I gave in and just went with the quick zigzag drizzle.  

At least my kids recognized them for what they were meant to be.

But my husband just shrugged and said, it's not how they look that matters.

And they do taste pretty pretty good.

Recipe from the Little Epicurean

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste

2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp whole milk

Method

1.  Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla paste in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2.  In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3.  All flour mixture to butter mixture.  Add milk and mix until dough has formed.

4.  Divide the dough into two disks.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare parchment lined sheet trays.

6.  Roll out chilled dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut out circles using a floured 2 1/2 inch cutter.  Punch out an inner with a smaller cutter of your choice.

7.  Lay the cookie cutouts on the parchment lined sheet trays and bake for 12-15 minutes until firm and lightly golden.  Let rest on sheet tray until cool to the touch and then transfer to cooling racks.

Caramel

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

3 cups sweetened dried shredded coconut, toasted

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line sheet tray with parchment paper.

2.  Spread coconut into a thin and even layer on prepared sheet tray.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate pan and stir coconut.  Continue to bake at 5 minute intervals, rotating the pan and stirring the coconut until golden in color.  Once toasted, let cool to room temperature.

3.  In a medium sauce pan, add sugar.  Cook over medium high heat until sugar begins to melt.  Once sugar begins in liquefy, reduce heat to medium or medium-low.  Do not over agitate the sugar, but swirl the pan once in a while to make sure sugar melts evenly.  Continue to melt the sugar until liquid is amber brown and aromatic.

4.  Add butter to sauce pan. Whisk until all the butter has melted.

5.  Remove sauce pan from heat and slowly add the heavy cream.  Continue to whisk until cream and sugar mixture are homogeneous.  Be careful, once you add the cream, the sugar mixture will bubble and rise quite a bit.  Be sure the sauce pan is away from heat before you add the cream.

6.  Continue to whisk until caramel is thick and smooth.  Let cool until slightly warm to the touch.  Reserve about 1/4-1/3 cup of the caramel in a separate bowl.  Then add the salt and toasted coconut.  Fold into the coconut until thoroughly distributed.

Dipping Chocolate

Ingredients

10 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Method

1. Slowly melt chocolate in the microwave.  Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds on full power.  Stir chocolate and continue to heat at 30 second intervals at half power until chocolate is melted.  Make sure not to overheat the chocolate which will bring it out of temper.

Assembly

1.  Once shortbread cookies are cool, dip one side into reserved caramel sauce.  Then spread about 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of coconut caramel mixture on top of cookie.  Dipping the cookie first into the reserved caramel sauce helps the coconut mixture to adhere to the cookie.  Let cool on rack.

2.  Dip the bottoms of the cookies into the melted chocolate.  Let cool on rack upside down (coconut mixture side down) until chocolate has hardened and set.

3.  Once chocolate is set, turn cookie right side up.  Transfer remaining dipping chocolate into a small parchment bag or piping bag.  Cut a small tip and drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies.  Let cookies sit out until drizzled chocolate has set and then enjoy!

4.  Keep cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.