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Pane Casarau Lasagna Bake

May 1, 2017 By

Pane Casarau is an ancient flat bread from Sardegna, also known as “carta da musica” (sheet music) due to its resemblance to the parchment paper that sacred music was written on. The airy flat layers are simply delicious, salty and crunchy. They are made of flour, yeast, water, and salt. The dough is rolled out thin and baked, then split into two layers which are baked again. The result is a thin, crispy cracker like, bread.  This crispy bread is great on its own or served together with a fresh but dry pecorino and thick slices of prosciutto. It’s also delicious when layered in this version of the ultimate family comfort food, my easy and light ragu’ and mozzarella lasagna. Click on the link for my family recipe of a hearty meat ragu’. I make a large pot once every two weeks and then I freeze the meat sauce in batches. You can prepare your lasagna a day ahead and bake it for 3o to 35 minutes on the following day or you can freeze the tray for up to 3 months.

Pane Casarau Lasagna Bake
Yum
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Pane Casarau Lasagna Bake
Yum
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6/8 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2 cups tomato sauce you can use Pomi strained tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable stock or water
  • 8/12 crackers pane Casarau I used 1 and 1/2 square pack available at Trader Joe's
  • salt and pepper to season
  • 2 cups meat ragu'
  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella sliced
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano
  • 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven at 350°F. Spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch lasagna pan. Wet the Pane Casarau crackers with the vegetable stock or the water to soften them. Then cover the tomato sauce with one layer of the Pane Casaurau. You can break the bread to fit pan.
  2. Spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bread and season highly with salt and pepper. Add a thin layer of ragu' sauce and spread. Sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of the grated pecorino and parmigiano. Add 4 to 6 thin slices of the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with basil leaves.
  3. Cover with a layer of the softened Pane Casarau and repeat for 2 or 3 more layers using all the ingredients. Top with a layer of tomato sauce and sprinkle evenly with the grated cheeses.
  4. Bake for 30 to 35 minute, or until the cheese on the top is melted and slightly golden brown. Drizzle with olive oil to finish.
Recipe Notes

I used a square version of Pane Casarau from Trader Joe's.  You can find the bread online at hwww.amazon.com/Pane-Carasau-Flatbread-Classic-gram/dp/B007W5OUB6

I have made the lasagna without ragu' and I increased the amount of tomato sauce and the mozzarella.

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The Importance Of Family Meals

October 28, 2015 By

My favorite time of the day is undoubtedly dinner time. That’s when I sit down, together with my family, to share a meal, a laugh, a cry, and at times a squabble.
Family meals are precious, indispensable and untouchable. They are about good food, nourishment, but also about helpful bonding.

Family meals are used to discuss daily events, school, work, ideas.
A sense of humor is required, good manners are requested, some culinary experimentation is necessary.  Incidentally, I’m ferocious about no technology at the table.
No phones. No Ipads. No TV.

Family meals are chaos, they can turn in to a circus if not a zoo, but most of the times they are pure joy. Selected family members are more adventurous eater than others, but generally, as long as I don’t sneak in mushrooms, I get happy costumers, clean plates, and useful information about every ones life endeavors.
In the spirit of full disclosure, good manners are not always a guarantee, i.e. my son’s ability to burp the whole alphabet in one go and my daughter Houdini’s talent for making all her vegetables disappear and re-appear in the garbage; however, while Downton Abbey we are not, I do hope for resolution of the above malfunctions in the not so distant future.

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Sharing meals has always been party of my upbringing and I’m holding to this tradition for dear life, because, I truly believe, connecting with my children and my husband, even if only for 20 minutes a day, it’s the key to a healthy family. To be clear, I’m not the only to believe in this.

The Family Dinner Project, a non profit organization dedicated to support families to come together and share their experiences and insights to help each other realize the benefits of family dinners has a phenomenal website loaded with evidence and studies supporting what parents have know for a long time:

“Sharing a fun family meal is good for the spirit, brain and health of all family members. Recent studies link regular family meals with the kinds of behaviors that parents want for their children: higher grade-point averages, resilience and self-esteem. Additionally, family meals are linked to lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and depression. We also believe in the power of family dinners to nourish ethical thinking.”

Harvard Medical School professor and family therapist Dr. Anne Fishel, co-founder of the Family dinner Project, says research shows how children benefit from eating dinner together as a family at home: healthier eating habits, reduced obesity and stronger vocabulary skills as a result of dinnertime conversations.

I encourage you to visit The Family Dinner Project for some invaluable insights and I urge you to try adding some family dinners to your schedule, or breakfasts or suppers.

To make your life easier enlist family members to participate, cook together, set the table, and clean up. Kids love to peel, cut, mash, pick herbs, wash, rinse and squeeze. My husband is terrific at rearranging the dishwasher; you can read about power struggle and dishwashers in this recent WSJ article.

No need to over-complicate. The meals can be very simple. It takes 3 minutes to boil a 3 minute egg and 1 minute to wrap some prosciutto on bread sticks. 6 minutes to steam vegetables in the microwave. 30 seconds to scoop some ice cream in a bowl.

Big PBJ & Jelly Jar – 2011 by Mary Hellen Johnson

If you have 30 minutes check this fab recipes from the genius at Leite’s Culinaria, if you have 15 minutes follow this fun recipe for one pot pasta by Martha Stewart, if you have 45 minutes on a weekend make my  lemon, sage fontina  meat loaf, it’s divine. You can prep it, freeze it and pop it in the oven when you feel like having a treat. It makes great sandwiches the day after. If it’s cold outside,  make my coconut, ginger squash soup.  PBJ sandwiches are a cupboard away. In the end,  if you panic email me, I’ll gladly share some ideas with you, together with my mother in law’s mom words of wisdom: Chi canta a tavola o a letto e’ un matto perfetto.

Lemon, Sage and Fontina Meat Loaf
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Servings Prep Time
8 people 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 people 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Lemon, Sage and Fontina Meat Loaf
Yum
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 people 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 people 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 pound double ground beef
  • 1 pound double ground pork
  • 1 pound double ground veal
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1/2 large chopped yellow onions
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup fresh ricotta drained
  • 4 tablespoons grated bread crumbs
  • 1 shot glass cognac
  • 10 leaves fresh sage no stem
  • 1 lemon peel julienned thin
  • 1/2 cup fontina cheese cubes small
  • 10 slices pancetta or bacon or speck
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Sweat the onions with the parsley until soft but not colored. Meanwhile in a mixer bowl add the beef, pork, veal, egg, grated parmesan,cumin powder, nutmeg, ricotta, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix well until all is combined. Add the onions and parsley mixture, cognac and mix again.
  2. Cover a cutting board with a rectangular piece of saran wrap. Scoop the meatloaf mixture in the middle of the board and with wet hands form an even rectangle about 10x15 inches. Layer the sage, fontina and lemon peel, forming a strip in the center.
  3. Using the saran wrap to help you, roll the meatloaf and seal all the edges forming a cylinder. Discard the saran wrap. Place the meatloaf in lined oven dish and cover with the pancetta slices overlapping them slightly. Cook in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes.
Recipe Notes

You can make the meatloaf and freeze it before cooking it.

Serve warm or room temperature.

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Coconut, Squash and Ginger Soup
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Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
6-8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6-8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Coconut, Squash and Ginger Soup
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Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
6-8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6-8 people 25 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Ingredients
Soup
  • 1 large butternut squash peeled and cubed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion chopped
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 tsp toasted powder cumin
  • 1 tsp grounded curry
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger more for extra kick
  • 14 ounces light coconut milk 1 can
Macadamia Nuts and Basil Pesto
  • 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
  • 2 cups basil leaves
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Servings: people
Instructions
Soup
  1. Heat about half the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  2. Add the squash, broth and spices. Bring to a steady simmer, then cover and simmer gently until the apples are tender, about 25 minutes.
  3. Transfer the solids to a food processor with a slotted spoon, in batches if need be, and process until smoothly pureed, then transfer back to the soup pot. Or better yet, simply insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until smoothly pureed.
  4. Stir in the coconut milk and return the soup to a gentle simmer. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until well heated through. Season with salt and pepper. If time allows, let the soup stand off the heat for an hour or two, then heat through as needed before serving.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into each bowl, then place a small mound macadamia basil pesto in the center.
Macadamia, basil pesto
  1. Toast the macadamia nuts in the oven. Put in a mortar with the basil, salt pepper and lemon juice. Work in to a paste. You can also use small blender. Add the olive oil and mix well.
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A family feud.

The Easter Feast.

April 20, 2015 By

Forget Chopped, Bologna, Italy is were the real war is. Every year, my mother in law Betta and her Sister Giorgia have a food competition. Betta takes on Easter lunch and Giorgia rebuttals with the Christmas meal. I don’t know how far back this tradition dates, but  I can assure you , the competition is brutal.
Months before the meals, family recipes are sourced out from books, secret phone calls are made, and long consultations with other close family members and sometimes Guido, the local butcher and known gourmand, take place behind closed doors. Food creativity, presentation, and table settings  are taken in consideration. No detail is overlooked.

Me, I stay out of it. If consulted I just make up an excuse and change the subject. I have learn not to come between the sisters. But I reap the benefits. I, in fact, have had the pleasure to attend Betta’s Easter feast for 2 years now, and enjoy the creations while sinfully indulge in the verbal banter between the sisters.

And let me tell you,  Betta didn’t disappoint this year. The spread was spectacular, each dish was designed with a nod to local ingredients and family recipes. Some of my favorite dishes were: buttery and flaky parmigianini, handmade sting nettle tortelloni, inspired by a recipe from signora Patrizia’s arsenal, stuffed guinea hen, veal mosaic, and a stunning fruit aspic.

Betta also scored extra points not only with the menu design, that with the help of my brother in law, his girlfriends and pinerest, was designed to resemble a cootie catcher, but also with the place settings, which were hand carved by my father in law Gigi, from local walnut trees and esquisitely hand painted with everybody’s first names.

menu

Menu by Francesco and Irene

segnaposto

Place Setting by Gigi

segnapostoaugusot

Augusto and Valentina settings

Parmigianini are a tradition at Betta’s table. They are small, buttery, flaky, loaded with parmigian, crunchy biscuits. They are served as an aperitif. Once I locate them, I cannot stop eating them. They are evil and addictive. This time, they were accompanied by Crodino’s and Aperol.  These are bitter orange drinks meant to stimulate the appetite at the beginning of the meal.

parmigini

Parmigianini

crodini

Crodini and Aperol

I was told the sting nettles for the tortelloni were picked in the fall and frozen especially for this meal. They are mixed in, while making the dough, lending not only a beautiful green hue to the tortelloni, but also a very distinctive aromatic flavor, reminiscing of mint and spinach. The tortelloni were a work of art. The dough was thin, slippery and encasing fresh, just made, salty ricotta and  chopped sting nettles. Dressed in a creamy sauce reduced with parmigiano, these tortelloni are possibly one of the more remarkable pasta dish I have ever had.  I could taste the love, the passion and the  patience of the experienced  hands of Betta and Patrizia in each one of them.

ortica

Sting Nettles

Dough

Dough

Betta’s tortelloni

I loved the stuffed guinea hen. It’s a beautiful and decadent dish, perfect for company. The veal mosaic was silky and tender, I would say it is the elegant cousin of the meatloaf. It came at the table all dressed up and studded with emerald green pistachios and specks of delicate pink prosciutto.

mosaico

Veal Mosaico

There were many other side dishes, salads and desserts served. This was not a meal for the faint of heart. Once it was time for the grand finale, the fruit aspic, took the cake. Aspic is an old fashion and sentimental dish in Italy. Every family has a recipe and it appears at times, at the end of the meal in all it’s trembling glory. Some people might over look the aspic and go for the creamy and more chocolaty contenders, but, I just love the refreshing qualities of it. Betta aspic is loaded with berries, fruit and encased by a delicate sweet but tangy gelatin. Of course to be fair, I also tried the famous chocolate  sandwich cookies and all the other dessert. and enjoyed all of them, but the aspic is were my heart and taste buds were at.

Aspic

Aspic

cookies

Filling the chocolate cookies

I cannot wait to go back next year. I can not even imagine how Betta will top her self. Truth is, I cannot imagine what her sister Giorgia will do at Christmas. She sure has a tough act to fall. Although I  have heard through the grapevine, she has already started looking trough the books, and I can hear her wheels turning from here.

The sting nettel tortelloni, courtesy of Patrizia is posted below.

Betta and Gigi

Betta and Gigi, the hosts and winner of this year feast. For now.

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