Now I had never made past before, granted I had seen plenty of people stuff it up on Masterchef before but I was up for the challenge. So I grabbed my eggs and flour and got to work. Now pasta dough is really hard to stuff up. I have been making my own Pizza dough for about 10 years and it can be a fine art depending on the type of base that you want. Pasta dough on the other hand is simple. 4 eggs & 400g of '00' flour and you're ready to rock.
Now if you are smart about this, the quantities of dough will be plenty for 2-3 batches of Lasagne so there are a couple of things you can do. Make a smaller batch, or make more mince and do a couple of Lasagnes, freeze one and keep it for a night when you don't feel like cooking. I also use Free Range eggs because the yolks give a beautiful rich yellow colour to the pasta.
I cheat a little in this recipe too by using premix spices and sauce but if you want to you could make your own. Really you can add anything you like to this recipe to make it your own. Add Pinto Beans and use Braised/Pulled BBQ Pork for even more Mexican and less Italian.
Let's get started.
Serves 6
Ingredients
Lasagne
600g Pork/Veal Mince*
1 Brown Onion, diced
1 Carrot, diced
1 x 400g tin of Kidney Beans
1 x Sachet of Taco Seasoning
1 x 325g Jar of Enchilada Sauce
1 x Jalapeño, finely sliced
2 cups grated Cheddar/Monterey Jack/Colby Cheese, your choice
Béchamel Sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Plain Flour
2 cups Milk
Lasagne Sheets
4 Free Range Eggs, room temperature
400g '00' Flour
Flour for dusting
Preheat oven to 200℃.
So start with making the pasta first. Place the flour in a large bowl and form a well in the middle. Crack your eggs into the centre of the well and give them a little stir to break up the yolks. Now using a butter knife or fork gradually work the flour into the centre of the eggs and continue mixing until it starts to form a solid ball of dough. Alternatively you can also you a mixer with a dough hook.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable. Wrap the dough up and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Now for the white sauce. Melt your butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk in your flour. Continue whisking until you it forms a paste. Slowly add your milk, bit by bit and as the sauce heats up it will start to thicken. You have complete control over the thickness of this sauce but remember it will cook further in the oven...Just don't stop whisking while on the heat or else it can go lumpy. Whisk in your Parmesan cheese until all melted. Set aside and stir occasionally.
On to the mince. So brown up your mince first in a frypan over medium-high heat then add your veggies, jalapeño, seasoning & salsa. Give it a good stir so everything is combined and add about a 1/2 cup of water. Stir again and then let it simmer on low heat for around 15 mins. Set aside.
The pasta is really simple now. Grab it from the fridge and cut it into 4 even portions. Set your pasta machine to the widest setting first and roll it through. To show you how to roll your dough perfectly every time I have linked a short video for you all to watch. This was where I first learnt how to roll my dough and like everyone says, practice makes perfect.
We are so close to eating this monster dish now. All we have to do is build it and bake.
Ok, so the way I layer my Lasagne is mince, béchamel sauce and lasagne sheets for 2 layers, then the final layer is just the remaining sauce and cover it with grated cheese. Place in oven and bake until cheese is golden brown on top. Because we are using fresh pasta the cooking time is reduced. You are basically just melting the cheese and everything else heats up along the way.
Garnish with some fresh mashed Avocado, a small dollop of Sour Cream and a couple of corn chips.
I will be doing a YouTube video for this at a later date and will more photos to come for this one.
Bon Appetit from The Little Gated Kitchen.
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