Tag Archives: home cooking

Mum’s Lasagne

Posted on by

5

Well it finally happened. The stars aligned and I happened to be at mum’s house when she made lasagne, with a camera in my bag.

Yes, I did invite myself over.

Yes, I did suggest we have lasagne for dinner.

And yes, I bought my camera with the intention of blogging about the entire experience.

So, I guess it wasn’t so much fate, rather more like imposition.

I know it doesn’t look the way most people would expect lasagne to look, and yes, it was a particularly runny batch.

However, I actually think it is the abundance of fluid in my mum’s lasagne that makes it the delight that it is.

It’s not really about the sheets of pasta that lay in between, it’s about the bond of love formed when bolognaise and bechamel mingle on the plate. True love.

There is always a splendiferous amount of this meat and sauce swimming around on the plate after the last mouthful and it makes for great dipping with a crusty bit of bread or even just for eating; with or without utensils.

This is definitely a plate-licker-meal.

I will use this opportunity to include our family’s idea of bolognaise. I think me, mum and VC all make it more or less the same.

I won’t include the details of bechamel, just a guide. You know how fond of them I am.

But I will include the layering technique that makes mum’s lasagne truly the best in the land.

Mama C’s Lasagne Recipe

Ingredients:

500g Beef Mince (probably 1kg for a big one).

1 onion, diced

2/3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tin of tomatoes

Handful of chopped parsley

A sprinkle of thyme, oregano and even basil if you like

Bechamel sauce (milk, butter, flour, cheddar cheese – you know the drill)

Fresh Lasagne Sheets

Oven 180C

Method:

To make the bolognaise;

Saute onion and garlic in a pan.

Add mince and brown.

Add tomatoes and herbs and season to taste.

Cover with water and bring to boil, then simmer for an hour or longer.

Thicken with a paste of flour and water.

Make sure there is plenty of fluid in the bolognaise, a nice gravy-like consistency.

Pasta;

Pour a full kettle of boiled water into a baking dish and soak the lasagne sheets in there for a few minutes.

Then take them out and lay them out, for ease.

Assembly;

Spray or brush baking dish wish some oil and lay the first layer of lasagne.

Put a layer of meat.

Then another layer of lasagne sheets.

Then a layer of bechamel.

Then another layer of lasagne sheets.

Then meat, then pasta, then sauce. Until you run out or the dish is full.

Make sure your top layer is bechamel. Sprinkle with some parmesan or cheddar cheese.

Bake in the oven for about an hour, or until golden brown on top.

Notes on the Recipe

Some might think the bolognaise recipe is simple, and yes, it is. But it always works, and tastes good. It doesn’t have an overpowering tomato acidity as I find is a problem with many lasagnes.

But if you want to ramp up the flavour you can always simmer it with beef stock or add spices like celery salt when sauteing the onions, or adding a bay leaf while simmering.

In regards to the bechamel, again, it’s a simple recipe, and again, it works. The simplicity of flavours results in a dish that is not over powering or overly rich.

But, if you like you can add a dash of nutmeg and a bay leaf to your sauce, or you can use a mixture of cheddar and Parmesan.

Ideally, you should use fresh lasagne sheets, but if you can’t get any, then make sure you boil your pasta sheets until they are cooked. This is important.

It is also important to layer as I specified. It makes a difference.

The longer you let the dish sit, the better it will set. If you serve up straight away it will be quite runny. But like I said, that is not a bad thing. On the contrary, I feel that is exactly what makes this recipe work.

Thanks mum for letting me share this recipe with my friends, some of whom may have had the good fortune to sample in the past.

And thanks for dinner last night.

Love you. xoxo

Chicken and Rice

Posted on by

4

I remember how this dish evolved from a rich red, paprika dish with chicken pieces to a light risotto style meal with breast pieces of chicken.

Me and my brother remember the old one wistfully, like some mythical half-remembered dream of our childhood.

Then my mum got wise. Perhaps we all got chubby. Who knows. But she realised that the old version was very fatty and unnecessarily oily. Delicious yes, but oily.

So she developed it into a light and fairly healthy meal that ticks all the boxes on the nutritional check list.

This dish is light and healthy. Tasty and makes great left overs.

Chicken and Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

chicken breast meat

1 – 1 1/2 cups long grain rice

1 L chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or powder/cubes etc) plus extra water

1 diced onion

1 clove of garlic (minced)

2 sticks of diced celery

1 diced green capsicum (or pepper)

frozen peas and corn

Method:

In a large frying pan, brown the pieces of chicken. (See Notes on Recipe for size suggestion)

Set those pieces aside.

In a bit of oil, saute the onion, garlic and celery.

When they have turned transparent, add the rice  and stir for about a minute.

Then add half of the stock and the vegetables and the chicken.

Give it a stir and put the lid on and simmer for as long as it takes to cook the rice through.

Keep stiring and add more stock and then water when it dries out.

Notes on the Recipe

You can use any type of chicken in this recipe. But the skinless breast is the most low in fat.

But because it will go dry and rubbery if you cook it too long, cut the pieces large. So they take longer to cook, and to reduce the chances of them becoming dry.

If you are really concerned about the chicken drying out, you can remove them from the rice once they are cooked, or add them a little while after you add the final ingredients.

I like to fry off a bit of sherry or white wine in the onions and rice mixture before I add the stock. A little extra flavour.

If you use water instead of stock (which is what I usually do…never seem to have chicken stock in the cupboard) I use a bit of Vegeta to add flavour.

(Don’t panic about that weird black thing in the corner. I check it out and it’s just the camera strap. I still have a lot to learn in the art of photography apparently. Annie Leibovitz doesn’t have to worry about her job just yet).

It’s Feeding Time.

Posted on by

1

I love to cook and I have a family.

My family usually consists of myself, husband, 4 yr old son, 2 yr old son and occasionally my sister, and – less often these days – friends and various other family members.

I’m no Gwenyth Paltrow (see Goop.com – for those who haven’t had the pleasure) and I’m not claiming to be the last word on anything, but I want to share my experience of feeding my family in the hopes of helping, inspiring and motivating others with their feeding rituals.

I also want to share the recipes of other mums and friends and family, and welcome anyone else who would like to contribute.

The general theme of this blog is ‘easy’. Not that I’m lazy, but generally I don’t have the time or energy to whip up exciting cuisine when it will most likely end up a) on the floor, b) in 2yr old’s hair, or c) in the bin. The important thing is I make it myself, and I know what’s in it. Most of the time.

Simple, nutritious (sometimes) and most importantly delicious food and food related ideas to feed your family.

A very popular meal in my house.

A popular meal at my house