Mexican Lasagne

Last Saturday we celebrated my second son's engagement party with a Mexican inspired food theme.  This Mexican lasagna made by my neice was extremely popular and a different take on traditional lasagna by including chorizo and mascapone.

Ingredients

Chorizo Ragout
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
250g fresh chorizo sausage, skins removed
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 carrot, 1 onion and 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
250g veal mince
250g pork mince
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
400g can diced tomatoes

Lasagne
Chorizo Ragu above
200g dry lasagne sheets
250g mascarpone
2 buffalo mozzarella balls sliced
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan


Method

To make the ragout

Heat olive oil in a deep fry pan over a medium heat, add chorizo, rosemary, garlic, carrot, onion and celery.
Break up chorizo with a wooden spoon and stir occasionally for approximately 8 minutes until chorizo is browned and the vegetables soft.
Increase heat to high and add the pork and veal mince.
Cook breaking up with a wooden spoon for approx 10 minutes or until meat is browned.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for a further 5 minutes.
Add the wine and simmer for 2 minutes, add stock and tin tomatoes.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour or until sauce is thick and rich.

Cool and store in the fridge until ready to assemble lasagne.

To make Lasagne

Preheat oven to moderate.
Place a small amount of ragout in the base of a large oven proof dish.
Add 3 lasagne sheets, then pour over remaining ragout.
Stir through the mascarpone, break up some more lasagne sheets into slithers and push them under the sauce.
Top with mozzarella.
Cover pan and cook in a moderate oven for half an hour or until pasta is al dente.
Remove lid and scatter lasagne with parmeasan cook until golden.

Simply stunning
Mamma Marmalde

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Vegetable Massaman Curry - in a hurry

Some nights you just want dinner to be quick, tasty and nutritious.  A few tins of lentils, coconut milk and curry pastes make a great pantry standby.  My freezer always has a few small containers of pre-cooked rice that reheat in no time and perfect to mop up all the curry sauce flavours.
Wilbur likes a bit of meat in his curries, yet he really enjoyed this veggie version - and was pleased there were leftovers for the next day's work lunch as Favourite Son did not pop in to hoover them up ! 
The curry paste is store bought but all the veggies are fresh and it is a great way of using the odd left over zucchini or cauliflower floret.  Change the veggies to suit yourself - Super tasty!   Enjoy!   Colleen 

Massaman Veg Curry- Feed Your Inner Cook

Massaman Veg Curry- Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation          5 minutes
Cooking        15- 20 minutes  (depends on veggies)

Ingredients 

this is just an idea - swap and use the veggies you like

Splash of Oil
2 onions - diced
2 cloves garlic - crushed
4 tablespoons Massaman Curry Paste - add more or less depending on taste
1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
1 eggplant - sliced and diced into bite size chunks
1 -2 zuchhini - sliced
1/2 cauliflower - cut into small florets
1 head brocolli - cut into small florets
maybe some left over roast pumpkin/sweet potato chunks (optional)
1 - 2 tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Paste (gives crunch/salty/sweet/meaty flavour)
1 x 400ml tin Coconut Milk plus a dash of water to squish the tin
1 tin Brown Lentils - rinsed and drained
1 or 2 shallots sliced finely
some fresh parsley - finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with Rice or Shredded Lettuce

Method

Heat the oil in a wide pan 
Add the onions and cook until begin to soften
Stir in the garlic, Curry Paste, Turmeric and chilli
Add the cut up vegetables - the ones that take longer to cook first and keep adding - stir now and then until veggies almost cooked
Pour in the Coconut Milk, water and Peanut Paste - stir well
Stir through the lentils, shallots and parsley
Have a taste and adjust /add seasonings to your preference
Serve with rice or shredded lettuce
                                     Enjoy!  Colleen

Spring greens with Hazlenuts and Orange

This is a great time of year to use spring crunchy greens in salads. This tasty version includes butter beans and snow peas but feel free to use any greens that look super fresh and crunchy.

Ingredients

400g French beans
400g Snow Peas
70g unskinned hazelnuts
1 orange
20g chives, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil (or another nut oil, like macadamia oil, if unavailable)
coarse sea salt and black pepper


Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking tray, toast in the oven for approx 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
Remove and place on a clean tea towel,  fold over the tea towel and gently rub the skins from the Hazelnuts.  Chop the nuts, some can be left whole.

Top and tail the ends of the beans and peas you have chosen,

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Once boiling add the beans and boil until just tender about 3 minutes and then add the snow peas for a further 1 minute. Drain into a colander and run them under tap water until cold. You may wish to rinse in cold water from the fridge. Leave to drain and dry.

Using a vegetable peeler remove the skin from the orange in strips trying to avoid the bitter white pith, Slice into fine slithers.

To assemble the dish, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, toss gently, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve at room temperature.

Mamma Marmalade

Mushroom, Kale and Barley Risotto

Favourite Son requested a copy of this recipe after he popped in for dinner one night – so it must be good!  

A great way to use Pearl Barley in a healthy comfort food recipe.  

                                                                                                        Enjoy! Colleen

Mushroom&Barley Feed Your Inner Cook

Mushrooms for the Barley Risotto by Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation            10 minutes

Cooking                  1 hour - 1 1/4 hours  (most of that is stirring a simmering pan)

Serves                     4 – 5 .  Great next day for leftovers

Ingredients

Handful Pine-Nuts  - dry toast in the pan beforehand.  Remove and reserve for garnish

Splash Australian Olive Oil

500 gram mushrooms halved – swiss browns if possible

2 onions finely sliced

2 cloves garlic – crushed

10 gram dried porcini mushrooms – soaked in warm water, removed and sliced. Save the soaking water but discard any grit in the bottom of bowl

Dash of dried Chilli flakes (to your taste)

2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

1 ¼ cups Pearl Barley – rinse well and drain

Thyme leaves – approx. from 8 stalks   (or use 1 teaspoon dried)  OR rosemary leaves

1 cup white wine

1 cup hot water

1 litre Chicken Stock  OR if vegetarian use the Massel Brand “chicken Style” stock

150 gram Kale – leaves pulled off stalks then leaves finely chopped

½ - 1 cup freshly Grated Parmesan cheese (to your taste)

Small handful parsley – finely chopped

Splash of red wine vinegar  OR squeeze lemon juice just before serving

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Dry roast the pinenuts.  Reserve for garnish at end.

Heat a little olive oil in a pan and cook mushrooms, stirring, approx. 4 mins.  Remove and set aside.

Then add a splash more oil to the pan and soften the onions

Add the garlic, porcini, porcini water (without grit), the mustard, chilli, drained Barley and thyme.  Cook for a couple of minutes until combined.

Gently pour in the stock, water and wine.  Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, just simmering, and cook approx. 35 – 50 minutes.  Liquid needs to be absorbed and the barley must be soft to eat.

You may need a add a little more stock or hot water if it is evaporating before being cooked or use a lid to cover for part of the cooking time.

Add the kale and cook approx. 5 mins until tender.

Return the pre-cooked mushrooms and mushroom juices and stir to warm through.

Stir through the grated parmesan.

Taste and add salt and pepper to your taste

Just before serving sprinkle over the chopped parsley

Squeeze a little lemon juice or a splash of the vinegar over.

Taste again and check the seasonings.

Finally, scatter over the pinenuts and serve.

                                                        Enjoy!  Colleen