Veggie Lasagne - American style



Dear Lal, I can't believe it has been over a year since I tried your delicious vegetable lasagne at one of your guys's dinner parties around Chritmas 2013. We had just started to become friends and your cooking skills were one more thing that convinced me what a great person you are :) Anyways, after bugging you for the recipe for months, it took me now so long to recreate. I had to make some "cultural" adjustments, as not every cheese was available here in Germany. Thanks for this amazing recipe!

Note: I call this the "American style lasagne" because in America you use Ricotta cheese instead of Bechamel sauce (which is more European style). Also, it is a little hard to find Fontinella cheese (which is a north American cheese) or Asiago cheese in Germany, so I substituted with other semi-hard cheeses. As for the veggies, I added a zucchini and I am sure you can add/substitute anything you like, but what I really enjoyed was, that the pieces were big.

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 jars pastasauce (tomatoes)
  • 1 box lasagne noodles
  • 500 g (16 oz) ricotta cheese
  • 500 g morzarella cheese, shredded
  • 250 g fontinella chesse, shredded (or subsitute with manchego)
  • 250 g asiago cheese, shredded (or substitute with pecorino romano)
  • 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons oregano, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 red pepper, cut in big pieces
  • 1 green pepper, cut in big pieces
  • 1 zucchini, cut in thin stripes
  • 1 onion, cut into half rings
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • salt, pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.
  • Boil the lasagne noodles in salted water for about 3-5 min each and lay them on a plate. Do not lay them on top of each other as they would stick. The noodles don't need to be fully cooked, just softened.
  • Make a ricotta cheese mix (this would be where Europeans use bechamel sauce). Add the ricotta chesse, the egg, about 1/4 of each of the other cheeses, and the herbs to a bowl. Mix well, salt and pepper.
  • Fry up the vegetables (peppers, zucchini, onion, garlic) for about 5-10 minutes (depending on how big the pieces are). The vegetables are not supposed to be cooked fully, you only want to bring out some of the flavor.
  • Spread a little of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the caserole and then start layering your lasagne: First, add a layer of lasagne noodles. Second, spread a thin layer of the ricotta mix on top of the noodles. Third, add a layer of tomato sauce on top of the ricotta mix. Fourth, sprinkle some of the veggies on top. Fifth, sprinkle some of the shredded cheese on top (2 parts morzarella to 1 part of each of the other cheeses). Repeat this about 3 times. The last layer should be noodles, ricotta mix, sauce and sprinkled cheese (without veggies).
  • Bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes till the cheese on top is melted and golden brown.


Ricotta cheese mix


Last layer ends with shredded cheese





Dinnerparty November 2013


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BRUNCH TIME - Black Forest Buns



This is something that I made a year ago and never found time to post. I love desert, especially something with chocolate, fruits and a nice icing glaze. I came across a recipe of these amazing Black Forest Buns and just had to try them.They are similar to the traditional cinamon rolls for brunch, but they have so much more...

Ingredients:


For the Dough:
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg (room temperatur)
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
    For the Filling:
    • 1 large can cherry pie filling
    • 1 can cherries in syrup
    • 3 large chocolate cupcakes
    For the Icing Glaze
    • 1 cup powder sugar
    • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

    Preparation:

    1. Combine water and milk and heat slightly in the microwave for a few seconds. Add one teaspoon of sugar, stir well. Add the yeast, stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. That will activate the yeast in about 5 minutes. You will see it bubble.
    2. Use a food processor and add the flour, sugar, salt, melted butter and milk/yeast mix. Process till dough forms a ball. You might need to add a little bit more flour. You can also do it by hand, but its easier with the food processor or dough mixer.
    3. Grease a big bowl, place the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm spot and let rest and rise for 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. Then open it up, punch the dough down, wrap it up again and let rest and rise for another 0.5 hours.
    4. Now, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle. Pour the cherry pie filling on top of it, distribute evenly. Drain the other cherries and add them. Crumble up the chocolate muffin on top of it.
    5. Roll the dough from the long side into a jelly roll. Slice it into 1.5 inch thick slices and place those pieces into a greased pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes till it doubled in size.
    6. Bake it at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. If you used a lot of filling, you might need to bake it longer. It should be slighly golden brown on top.
    7. Let the pan cool for 30 minutes. Combine the powder sugar and cream until it is a thick paste that you can drizzle from a spoon. Drizzle it over the dough. Cut and serve.






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      New Year's Resolution for Pudica's Food Corner



      My dear followers,

      a new year has started and how better to start it than with some very motivated resolutions for the new year. I have big plans for my food blog and want to try to make it a little bit more professional. My final goal is, after I have posted enough of my Mom's Recipes, to put together a cookbook about those recipes, but this might still be out a couple of years....

      For this year, I am planning the following changes:

      • Register a domain name to add a little bit more security to my own blog and to have a nicer name (without the "blogspot")
      • Buying a template that is actually more pleasing and more professional
      • Trying to add a custom made header including Pudica's picture
      • Adding a menu point featuring speacial topics, such as "Brunch at Bobby's", "Tea Time", etc.
      • Talking a little bit more about Food Photography
      • And maybe trying out to add some ads... 

      Wish me luck with my resolutions and I hope that 2015 will be a successful year for everyone!
       Cheers,

                  Pudica



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