Heavenly Panzanella

Every home bread baker will always have days when they bake more than they could eat.

Well, freezing is an option.

But what if you’re not in the mood to freeze your baked goods? Surely you’d feel guilty for throwing those wonderfully made bread. You can dice them, season them, and turn them into beautiful croutons for your soups and salads. You can also grate them, dry them, season them,  and make homemade bread crumbs that you can use to coat your choice of protein, or sprinkle on top of a bed of creamy mac’n’cheese. So many options, so many delicious ideas to turn days old bread into something special. But here’s my favorite, Panzanella.

"Panzanella...Summer salad of central Italy consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, basil, vinegar, and olive oil. Also pan molle (soft bread) and panbagnato (soaked bread). From the Latin panis (bread)."

---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1997 (p. 178)

The first time I tried Panzanella, I was absolutely not impressed. The vinaigrette was too much it turned the bread into a mush and the tomatoes were not ripe enough. Under ripe tomatoes are best for making sambal, methinks. So I did not care about Panzanella for a long, long time. That is, until I start baking my own bread. With the abundance of bread I have at home, I have to have perfect Panzanella. Two key ingredients in making perfect Panzanella are very ripe tomatoes and bread with open crumbs that would gladly soak the lovely vinaigrette. 

There are many ways to make Panzanella. Some of the Florentine traditionalists actually just soak the bread in water and add some very ripe tomatoes, salt, and olive oil. They disapprove additional ingredients such as olives, mozzarella, white wine, capers, celery, red wine, red onion, cucumber, bell, anchovies, peppers, lemon juice, and garlic. But hey, with all due respect to the Fiorentino, I beg to differ. So let’s jump on my not mushy, simple, vegan, unbelievably delicious Panzanella band wagon!

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients:

2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 red or white  onion, thinly sliced

A handful of basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3-5 black olives, drained and thinly sliced

1 tbs capers, drained and shred to pieces

French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (4-5 cups)

a pinch of salt

2-3 tbs vegetable oil, for pan frying

For the vinaigrette:

1 finely minced garlic

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3 tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

Important note: DO NOT put too much salt in your vinaigrette!

Once the vinaigrette is poured on the salad and mixed well with the other ingredients, you will have additional saltiness from the capers and the olives. 

For the bread, you can cut the crust if it is already too hard. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and a pinch of salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed. You are doing this to prevent the bread from turning into an unappetizing mush.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to marry.

Mamma Mia!

Stale bread+ripe tomatoes+vinaigrette= MANNA.

I use my sourdough bread here and if you happen to have sourdough bread at your disposal, all the better. It will take your Panzanella to the next level. If you want to add cucumber, fine. It will provide an extra crunch. Just make sure you take the seeds out first , otherwise it would make the bread too soggy and that's something you wanna avoid.

If you have never had Panzanella before, then I advise you to intentionally leave your bread to stale. Don't you dare touch it. Get some of the ripest tomatoes possible and by God! Make yourself some Panzanella and get lost in all its glory.

Bisous,

Amy

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Extreme Garlic Loaf

If you still buy your garlic bread, truly, you must have never been to garlic bread paradise.

There are so many garlic bread recipes out there and 80% of them taste better than store bought or even from ones you get from restaurants. Even a simple white bread slathered with butter, sprinkled with garlic powder, and quickly toasted tastes better than opening your wallet and paying for something less than mediocre.

When I was a kid, spending money on treats was fun. Stale bread slathered with cheap chocolate when bought with my allowance at school and shared with friends tasted like the ultimate chocolate bread. But now, yes I admit I'm a snob when it comes to bread, I reject the idea of spending hard earned money for food that taste so-so. We live today, so we should eat well. Even if it's just an egg, be it one that's poached properly. Even if it's just a piece of brownies, be it one that will take you to heaven and back.

Savor every bite.

Since I have some leftover marinara sauce in the fridge, having it as a dipping sauce would be nice. It isn't enough for even two portions of pasta and it's so good I don't wanna throw it away. So garlic bread it is. Well, in this case, loaf. Anyhow, it is based on the recipe I found at Taste of Home. Garlic Bubble Loaf. The title seemed fun, so I clicked it, read the ingredients list and came up with my version which has more garlic and more fiber in the dough.

Ingredients

The Dough

350 gr all purpose flour

25 gr wheat bran*

7 gr instant yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs poppy seed, optional

2 tbs garlic infused olive oil**

1 cup warm milk 

Warm water, if your dough feels too dry

*Substitute wheat bran with flour if you don't have it

**Finely chopped 3-4 garlic cloves and heat them in olive oil. Just heat, not fry. Leave until cool. 

Melted Garlic Butter

50 gr unsalted butter, melted

1 clove of garlic, crushed

3 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

-Mix and knead the dough ingredients well. 

-Oil a bowl, leave it to proof until it's doubled in size, about an hour.

-Divide the dough into eight, or more, and form a ball out of each.

-Prepare your melted garlic butter, dip, and coat each ball in the butter.

- Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and put the dough balls in the pan. Pour the rest of the butter on the dough balls.

-Cover your dough with plastic and let rest until it doubles, approximately one hour.

***My picture has olive and cheese between each balls. That's because Amiko  decided to interfere and make the loaf 'her style'.

-Bake the loaf in 185C oven for 40 minutes.

-Wait 10 minutes before you take the loaf out of the pan.

Oh THE SMELL!

You will hear a 'frying' sound while the loaf is being baked. No worries, that means you're doing it right. The excess butter, the one you pour on the loaf after you dip the dough balls, will literally fry the bottom and make the bottom extra crispy and oh so yummy!

But the crumbs.. Oh so cottony soft...

So cheap, so easy to make, and a whole-lot-of wonderful. The only advice I can give you to make the cotton crumb is to always knead well. No mixer, no cry. Think of it as exercising at the gym, but you get bread afterwards and you don't need to look good to feel good.

Give it a go and tell me what you think.

Cheers,

Amy

Submitting this on Yeast Spotting

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Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza

I’m a pretty quiet person.

Until I talk about books and baking, bread in particular.

So it’s only natural that I love collecting books about bread. My recent purchase is My Pizza by Jim Lahey. The whole book is about pizza making. Even though I already have American Pie: My Search for The Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart, another perception in preparing and baking one of the most loved dishes in the world is always appreciated. Besides, what Peter Reinhart stated in his book about the quest of finding a perfect pizza has ingrained, embedded in my prefrontal cortex. There will always be somebody who makes better pizza. The thing is even though we like the better ones, we will always cherish and savor the memory of the great pizza we’ve had earlier in life. It’s like nicely behaved ex lovers, really. Except that I have no need to revisit them.

There are so many wonderful pizzeria out there, it truly depends on what mood we’re in at the moment we want them. Right now I am into Jim Lahey’s but who knows what will be my favorite three months from now? One thing I know is that even if I find another killer pizza in the future, I will always love Jim Lahey’s dough, Peter Reinhart’s, Jeff and Zoe’s from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and many others whose pizza recipes I’ve tried and tested.

No knead trick in Jim Lahey’s recipe is basically the same as in other no knead recipes except that his does not require refrigeration but if you do not want to bake all at once then you can store some of the pizza dough in the fridge for later use.

To get the crispy and charred crust, a very hot oven is crucial. Traditionally, Italian pizzas are cooked on bricks in a wood-fired oven. This ensures the crispy crust, but also cooks the rest of the pizza “properly” as well. Now a brick oven is not something one can have inside an apartment or a lawn-less house in the city, right? That is why we have baking stone. Baking stone, especially one that has been used over and over again, gives a bit of that charred flavor as well. The crust cooks more evenly and moisture is drawn out of the dough rather than steaming the dough.  But if you don’t have it, it’s okay. Just make sure your oven is really hot.

Okay.. I actually don't feel comfortable in showing you the inside of my oven. No, it's not dirty. It's just.. stained. Anyhow, that's my baking stone which has definitely seen better days. But like most of the best humans, the stained are the most interesting ones.

Okay, let's get to the recipe.

Ingredients:
500 gr all purpose flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup water
Note: You can substitute half of the amount of flour with wheat flour

Directions:
-Mix all ingredients in a bowl, stir with a spoon, cover it with plastic, and let it sit for at least 18 hours.
It is best if you do it at night if you want to have pizza for lunch. This is what the dough looks like after 18 hours:

-Flour your work surface, place your dough on it, then divide it by four.

-Make a ball from those pieces of dough.

-If you choose to keep some for another day, a two days refrigeration will yield a lovely tangier taste, wrap the dough individually. Otherwise, cover loosely with plastic while you prepare the topping.

-Preheat your oven to 250C. If you have a baking stone, preheat it along with the oven. If you don't, preheat your oven anyway.

-Take a ball of dough and flatten it on a baking sheet however thin you wish your pizza to be.

-Slide the pizza on the baking paper with the baking paper as well onto the baking stone if using. Otherwise use any pan and bake for 5 minutes.

-Take your pizza out, put any topping you want, then bake it again until the mozzarella melts. If your using baking stone, remove your baking paper.

ALWAYS! 

Drizzle your pizza with olive oil before you bake it again and after for an out-of-this-world oomph. I use my pizza peel here. That is a great tool for sliding anything to the baking stone.

Here's the result...

Would you look.. at.. THAT!

This meatless pizza is better on the palate and for your health than any pizza you would call for a hungry night delivery. It saves you lots of money, too. Of course you can have a carnivorous pizza. I would as well, if somebody would be kind enough to give me some cold cuts.

What I am asking you is to not be afraid to attempt pizza or bread baking if you don't have a baking stone. Having it is a plus, sure, but it's not a done deal. This recipe ensures you two days of lunch or dinner and what can be better than made with love made at home meals? A pair of Louboutin shoes would be the right answer but we're talking meals here.

So don't bother kneading. Just mix, sleep, wake, and bake!

Cheers,

Amy

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Murgh Masala

After I purchased Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals sometime in last year, Indian food has been on our speedy dinner's list. Since it was meant to be speedy then it's quite impossible to grind your spice and cook everything from scratch. One of the brand of Indian spice paste that I love to use is Patak. No, I'm not the marketing of that brand. It's just that Jamie mentioned it in his book and it happens to be available at the nearby stores.

The price is just about $5-7 a bottle depending on the flavour. Not too expensive, but it's not cheap also. Sadly, after the lid is opened, it won't stay fresh for long. Two weeks and you'll get really sour spice paste, which if you think about it, it is a proof that it is really using good ingredients and less preservatives. 

Now here's where my problem arises. I do not cook Indian food everyday of the week. Two out of seven days is still acceptable but it'll have to be a different dish e.g: Tandoori chicken on Tuesday and Tikka Masala on Saturday.  So if I have four jars of different spice paste then I am bound to spoil some.

So after spoiling some jars over time, I switched to an equally yummy Indian spice paste from Asian Home Gourmet that is sold in small sachets. Yummo! But as a geeky mother, sometimes I face a time when I  have to cut down our meal budget because I fancy some books on Amazon. I just gotta have 'em!

Bad, bad momma!

Well, that's when I take out Indian food and meat  from a week dinner's list and all of us go vegetarian for a week. Surviving on tofu & tempe is not only good for detox but it's good for my bookcase. Besides, no matter how good the famous brands' spice mixes are, they're still pricey compared to homemade spice mixes. I just need to spend some more time prepping. That's the prob.

Now it has been a good two months since Indian food is out of weekly dinner rotation because of 'The Wedding', not because I shopped for books too much, mind you. It's only normal that Amiko craved it to the level of whining and  has stopped touching her pasta. 

She did make a request I simply couldn't resist, "Can you make the spice from scratch? I want the one like we had at Kinara. It tastes good like rendang."

I knew what she meant by it tastes good. For Amiko, tastes good means tastes clean. Her rendang is not one of those you'd find in some Padang restaurant in Jakarta. Either it's cooked by my mom, the preservative-loather, or we get it straight from Padang where they still cook it using fire woods. nothing beats it. So I browse a Murgh Masala recipe and found a simple one from Journey Kitchen. 

I used everything needed in the recipe but I added the amount of the spices and some garam masala  because I only have the powdered version of several of the spices, hence the addition. I also use skinless chicken breast instead of thigh with the skin on. Uncrispy chicken skin turns us off. Besides, cooking is not like baking. Add a little bit of this and that to your liking, but only.. Only after you have cooked it to a T with the original recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 big skinless chicken breast, cubed

10 almonds

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tbsp Sauf aka Fennel powder

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 green  or red chilies

2 green cardamom pods

2 onions, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 tsp Garlic Paste

2 tsp Ginger Paste

3 tbs Garam masala

2 tbsp Olive oil

Coriander to garnish

Salt to taste

How It's Done:

-Marinate the chicken in yogurt, chili powder, turmeric, GG paste, green chilies and two pinches of salt for at least 4 hours in the fridge, preferably over night. 

-Grind the almonds, coriander, cumin, cardamom pods, and fennel seeds. 

-Heat oil in a wok or saucepan. Add the chopped onions and let them soften. 

-Add the almond spice mix. 

-Add the tomatoes and let them reduce to a paste. 

-Add the marinated chicken along with the marinate. 

-Cook with low fire until the chicken is done and do add some water to thin out the paste. Add salt to taste.

-Done!

-Garnish with coriander.

My..My..

My kitchen smells Dee-vine! The only thing I regret, but I didn't care about it anyway, is that my tomatoes weren't red enough so the end result wasn't too reddish. But holla! Once you take a bite of the absolutely aromatic and tender chicken.. Poof! All your miseries are history.

Serve this with some Soft Indian Roti that only takes less than an hour to make and you won't wanna spend a dime on Indian Spice Mix at the store anymore. I know I won't.

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Sourdough Pizza

What a bad blogger I am!

It has been almost two… TWO whole months since my last post!

But then again, I am not a professional blogger; I am merely a hungry woman with an unhealthy love for book shopping.  Denial aside, when you’re an Indonesian and your sister in law is to be married with wedding banquets, yup plural there for the word ‘banquet’, held in different cities in the same month, you are simply allowed to be a little cuckoo for a period of time. You'd understand what I mean. 

Apart from the dark skies, heavy rain, and my mood that is so foul it deserves 3 red cards in a row, I still manage to make something that packs a punch. 

In a good way.

There is a saying: ~Do not attempt to cook if your heart is not in it~

Not only it is true for fancy food that requires you to focus and to be in the mood, like decorating a cake or freezing raspberries using liquid hydrogen Heston Blumenthal style, just a simple stir-fry will taste bad when you're angry while cooking it. I was totally tired and hungry, that made me grumpy, and as much as I wanted to call for some pizza, I wanted none of that 30 minutes pizza with just a so-so taste. So no phone calls, no heart for cooking, and it was plain sunny side egg with a little rice and lots of sambal belacan on the side for me. It took care of the hunger, gave me energy and some time to browse a good pizza recipe. 

Holding back my saliva and saving it for the next day, I saw a gem.

A pizza using unfed sourdough.

You can find the original recipe in King Arthur Flour's website and make it or you can upscale it using my adaptation. The original recipe calls for some Pizza Dough Flavor. Hmm.. Not only I'm not sure I can find it here, I'm not too fond of using spice mix which I can't guess what's in it. So I was thinking, hard actually, what in the name of melted butter on whole wheat toast is the flavor of pizza dough?

Oh what the heck, pizza is Italian so I'll just add some ingredients that are typically used in Italian cuisine; garlic and cheese.

Let's Prep!

1 cup sourdough starter, unfed (straight from the fridge)

1/2 cup warm water

280 gr All-Purpose Flour

20 gr wheat bran

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

3 tbs grated hard Italian Cheese, I used Grana Padano.

1 tsp garlic Powder

Let's Knead!

Mix the dry ingredients together, put in the starter, and pour in warm water. Knead until it feels just right. I cannot tell you how right is right because I strongly advise you to know your starter. Some people have wet starter, Bonnie is quite thick. So it's wise to add the water gradually and have a water spray bottle in case you need to incorporate more water to make a smooth and slightly sticky dough.

Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased container, and allow it to rise till it's just about doubled in bulk. This might take 2 to 4 hours; it might take more. A lot depends on how vigorous your starter is. For a faster rise, place the dough somewhere warm (or increase the yeast). To slow it down, put it somewhere cool.

I used a really big pyrex pizza pan here, about 15-16 inches in diameter.

Drizzle the pizza pan with olive oil until it's coated well. Place half the dough in the pan. Cover with cling wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes. Gently press the dough towards the edges of the pans; when it starts to shrink back, cover it, and let it rest again, for about 15 minutes. Finish pressing the dough to the edges of the pans. Cover the pan with cling wrap and let the dough rise about an hour.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 225°C. 

Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, then top and bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or till toppings are as done as you like. Remove from the oven, and loosen the edges of the pizza with a table knife or heatproof spatula.

MAMMA MIA!!!

I could not STOP SMILING like an Italian that hadn't eaten pizza for 10 years!

I truly made the right decision to incorporate cheese and garlic powder.

The crust was FANTASTIC!

It's a pizza crust that pleases my love-to-complain taste buds: Far from plain tasting crust that complements even the simplest toppings, thin but not papery, not crackly, and not breakable like crackers but still has a bit of crispness at the bottom, crust that I'd happily eat even if there's no topping on it.

I only spread some thawed homemade far-from-meaty bolognaise sauce that I stocked for Amiko, scattered lots of shiitake mushrooms that I've stir-fried for just a minute or so to soften and moisten them a bit, and grated mozzarella cheese on it. No fancy stuff here.

My only tip is, I hope you will not be bored because I shall repeat it again; Get to know your starter. For example, mine is fed with rye flour and thick in consistency so it's tangy. But Bonnie, even thick, is Super Starter. It rises all purpose flour in no time. So just be aware of some sourdough dynamics here. Using a starter that hasn't been fed for weeks will yield a pizza crust that rises slowly. 

There are no hard-and-fast rules here; it all depends on the vigor of your starter, and how you like your crust. I just happen to like my crust thin. You can have it thick if you prefer. Do remember to adjust the baking time aaaannd... 

Get to know your starter. 

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(Individual) Potato & Onion Tartes Tatin

What comes to your mind when you think of French cuisine? 

Intricate, delicate, hard, Julia Child. 

Oh, Julia Child. What’s not to love from her? I embarrassedly admit I did not know who she was until I watch the movie Julie & Julia back in 2009. I was instantly hooked and inspired. I wasn’t even interested in cooking back then. I guess I started to cook intensely around late 2010 or early 2011. Do forgive my somewhat hazy memory; I am not quite useful when it comes to remembering timelines and names. 

After purchasing Julia’s book Mastering The Art Of French Cooking I tried several easy recipes and they were awesome. I was hooked on La Tarte Des Demoiselles Tatin. It is basically an apple tarte tatin. Tarte tatin itself actually has a very interesting story behind the rather accidental way it was created. In the 1880s, there was a hotel called Hotel Tatin about 100 miles south of Paris, France. Hotel Tatin was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, hence the name La Tarte Des Demoiselles Tatin. One day Stéphanie made an apple pie but left the apples cooked for far too long. Afraid the pastry would come to waste and burn; she inverted the pastry onto a baking pan and let it cooked with the apples on top. She was surprised that the almost burnt apple pie tasted different from the traditional apple pie and many guests loved it and since then it has become a classic French dish.

I cannot tell you how much I adore everything tatin; be it apple, pear, or pineapple. One day I was craving for something savory and I found a gorgeous Martha Stewart tatin recipe. It’s Potato & Onion Tartes Tatin. Looking at the list of ingredients, I was smitten. This pretty dish includes a balsamic syrup. How rustic! 

Ingredients:

-3 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for the pan.

-Flour to dust the pan.

-Store bought puff pastry to fit your pan.

-4 medium yellow onions, peeled, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds.

-5 small new potatoes, pelled.

-Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

-¼ cup balsamic vinegar

-A pinch of sugar

Directions:

-Generously butter six individual pie tin (5 inch) or one 9 inch pie tin.

-Using the tin as a guideline, cut the puff pastry to fit in the tin, set aside and keep refrigerated. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 210C.

-Lay two or three onion rounds on the bottom of each pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

-Slice the potatoes very thinly and place them slightly overlapping each other, over the onion to form a concentric circle. The potatoes should cover the onion. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

-Place chilled puff pastry rounds on top of the potatoes and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

-Immediately invert the tarts onto plates.

-In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture reduces into syrup, about 4 minutes. Whisk in butter, a piece at a time, until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

-Glaze the tarts with the balsamic syrup and serve.

I have been making this dish countless times ever since. I tweaked the recipe using different kinds of dried herbs and it just keeps getting better. Even though it is best when served warm, it is also lovely in room temperature. That is why I always make this whenever I feel down and need something so light and pretty to uplift my spirit. 

This Potato & Onion Tartes Tatin is such a chic idea to be served whenever you have a small party in your house or whenever you have some close friends come over. You will impress them with a dish so simple and cheap yet it looks and tastes like it’s coming from some French bistro. It can be assembled and refrigerated, covered in plastic wrap, three to four hours in advance, then bake it just before serving.

So shoo.. go buy a pack of puff pastry. Don’t bother making it especially when you have other things that need worrying... like lazying about and choosing what DVD to watch. 

Enjoy this exquisitely beautiful dish!

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MaMiko's Reduced Fat Quiches

Dearest friends,

Ever since I started selling my quiche around mid 2011, I've received so many lovely feedbacks and I cannot thank you enough for loving them.

MaMiko's quiche is totally made with love and warm thoughts of you. I have always been a big fan of quiche. It's versatile, great to be eaten warm or at room temperature, has a decent shelf life, highly nutritious, fulfilling, and most of all, quiche is such a crowd pleaser that brings a hum-dee-dum feeling that satisfies our taste buds.

I do have to underline that I do my quiche differently. Apart from its high nutritional value, common quiche is laden with saturated fat from the use of excessive yolks, double cream, full cream milk, and not to mention the large amount of shortening, which is something I have never and never will use in any of my cooking, to give a crisp edge to the pastry. For the pastry, I use little amount of butter with no yolk. As for the filling, I do not use cream nor full cream milk. I only use low fat milk and the best vegetables in the market to enrich the flavor. 

I have 3 available fillings of choice:

-Smoked Beef & Mushroom

-Spinach & Mushroom

-Eggplant & Cheese (mushroom by request)

Price: 

22cm diameter Rp125.000,-

13cm diameter Rp32.500,- (min.3 pans)

These lovely quiches are baked on the delivery date. So please always order in advance to ensure the availability of the shiitake mushroom. Why shiitake mushroom? It's simple. As a proud Asian and a health food lover, shiitake packs most fiber and nutrition than other kinds of mushrooms. It renders a distinctive taste to a dish. 

So are you ready to have a delectable, reduced fat quiche?

Click here to order. Be sure to hide a slice from your friends and family. 

They are THAT good J

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Butternut Squash Lasagna

After being very carnivorous recently, I totally blame steak houses and my hubby for saying yes whenever I said "I feel like having steak for dinner.", I woke up yesterday and said to myself how I need to say no to meat!


I love meat, there is no mistake in there.
But my body craves for colourful fruits and vegetable. So what my body needs, my body gets. I happen to live not so far from a traditional market and I love how cheap fruits and vegetables there. So I went there, grabbed some ripe mangoes for the three of us and a cute medium sized butternut squash. Why butternut squash? Because it has a lovely texture, high in fiber, and perfect for this recipe I've been wanting to try for quite sometimes.


This recipe is taken from the book Giada's Family Dinner. I was reluctant at first to try it, but hey..if I use pumpkin and butternut squash to make curry, I'm pretty sure it wont taste bland with all the herbs inside.


So here is the recipe:

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• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.


Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.


Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375F.
Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.


Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.


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A little note here, I halved the recipe because there are just the three of us. I also suggest that if you don't have amaretti, you can sprinkle a little amaretto liqueur, or almond essence on wheat cookies, or just omit it.

Make sure that you put a decent amount of salt in the butternut squash or else you will have too sweet of layers of butternut squash puree.
I did not use fresh basil, but here is the catch; I use my home made pesto sauce because I always have it frozen and ready, I put it straight away in the thickened milk and by golly! I will do that step again tomorrow to make some fettuccine sauce for Amiko. YAY!


Aight, I hope you will try the recipe. It is a healthier choice for comfort food. It is great for kids because you will not have to burden them with their daily vegetable intake. Enjoy!

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