Lemony lasagna

Oh dear! What happened? It's practically been a month since my last post. Well, the life of this blog is very much at the mercy of my family life. It lives on the margin. Any unexpected events and my plans for a creative moment in the kitchen, with the camera or in front of the computer quickly has to jump to the end of the queue and patiently wait its turn. The past month has been full of such events, pleasant, like our trip to the sun but also tiring such as children, poorly with mean colds, needing heaps of tender and loving care. Then, when the colds are getting better and appetites return they need to fill their tummies with healthy but comforting food. Here is one of those. 

If you search for a recipe of a lasagna on the internet you will be overwhelmed. It will win any popularity contest single handily. It's hard, though, to make that perfect one and I find that it often gets a bit dry. The secret is adding fresh mozzarella and loads of bechamel. This recipe adds  lemon zest and nutmeg. You've probably noticed by now that I really LOVE using lemons in my food especially anything that has tomatoes in it. Sorry, but it makes such a difference.  

Lemony lasagna

I have not been very precise with the amounts in this recipe, it doesn't really matter much just make sure you add bechamel on top of every lasagna sheet. I had made a double recipe of bolognese and used what was left from dinner to make the lasagne. I think that is the way to do it otherwise it just takes too long. If you do make it from scratch probably about 400 g of beef (or veal or lamb) mince will be enough.

Ingredients
1 recipe of your favourite bolognese sauce (or this one, Bolognese)
fresh lasagna sheets
1 packet of mozzarella
tomatoes

Bechamel
2,5 tbsp flour
2,5 tbsp butter
6 dl milk

200 g of grated cheese (any mature one will do, gruyere or cheddar for example, I used this cheddar from the Park Farm which I bought at my local farmers market on Sunday).

the zest of one lemon

grated nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir for a bit until it is mixed, then quickly add the milk and stir so that the flour and butter mixture is dissolved, then let it simmer for three minutes, stirring occasionally, so that the flour taste disappears. Then remove from heat and add the grated cheese, but save some to sprinkle on top of the lasagne, let it melt and then add the lemon zest, and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the mozzarella and tomatoes in slices. In an oven proof dish add a layer of a third of the bechamel sauce, then lasagna sheets, then half the bolognese, tomatoes and mozzarella, lasagna sheets, a third of the bechamel, the rest of the bolognese, tomatoes and mozzarella, lasagna sheets, the rest of the bechamel. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until it looks golden brown.

Weekly menu and shopping list

Dear readers, 

I have taken the leap into committing to offering up the service of a suggested weekly menu including a shopping list. I will put together a menu of already existing recipes from this blog, add a shopping list and post it every Thursday (or so I'll try) so you have time to do the relevant shopping for the following week. In the meantime I am trying out new recipes on my little family and if they are received with standing ovations, empty plates and full tummies I'll post them here for you to try out too.  

This week I've done a lamb shank recipe from my favourite food blogger and another recipe of adobe from the Swedish food blogger of the year 2011. They were only just ok on my palate but I've had a bad cold which might have played up with my taste buds. The rest of the family seemed to like them both. Recipes now up for re-trial. 

Lamb shanks with couscous, peaches and pistachios

Weekly menu Feb 6, 2012

Monday: Kalops

Tuesday: Salmon Teriyaki (I have doubled the recipe in the shopping list to be enough for 4 people)

Wednesday: Lamb with sweet spices

Thursday: Coq au vin

Friday: Italian meatballs (for a good batch and some to put in the freezer)

Shopping list

400 g chuck steak 

4 salmon fillets 

400g lamb mince

4 chicken thigh fillets

800 g minced beef

100 g cubed pancetta

1 egg

3 dl of milk
1 dl grated parmesan

a dollop of greek yogurt 

4 carrots

2 parsnips

4 onions

6-8 small brown or red onions

12 cloves of garlic

1 tumbsize piece of fresh ginger

2 portabella mushrooms
2 handfuls of babyplum or cherry tomatoes

a couple of sprigs of lemon thyme
1 dl frozen soya beans

zest of 1 lemon

25 g of chopped parsley

2 cans of chopped tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)

1 dl of white wine

1 dl red wine
1 tin of chickpeas

1 dl creamed coconut (or open a tin of coconut milk and use only the thick cream that usually gathers at the top of the tin)

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 dl breadcrumbs

6 apricots, chopped
1 pomegranate (for two dinners)
1 small bunch of fresh mint leaves

2 tbsp corn flower

3 tbsp chicken stock 

2 tbsp veal stock

3 bay leaves

10 allspice berries

1 tsp white peppercorns

2 tbsp japanese soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil 

sesame seeds

1 tsp cardamom seeds
2 cinnamon sticks

butter

olive oil

Good night! 

Seriously ugly looking food

Ok, now don't be put off by the look of this beef casserole. It's lack of beauty is made up for in taste, honestly!  It's a traditional Swedish dish but actually has an English name. Kalops comes from collops which is the plural word for collop or slice of meat.

My paternal Grandmother would invite our family of seven and my Aunts family of six for dinner in her beautiful flat in Gothenburg. It was a very stately affair and all five of us kids would be dressed up and well behaved, at least during dinner. I remember the smell when entering her flat and this is exactly what our house smelled like yesterday when I cooked Kalops. Ritz crackers with various cheese for starters, then kalops with perfectly cooked potatoes as main. I had to think a bit about dessert, by that time the kids had probably been excused.  We  would find our way into my father's old room to look at his toys. I remember thinking of him as a little boy lying in his bed or doing his homework at his desk. This dish is a small homage to my Grandmother, the woman who raised my beloved and deeply missed Dad. 

Kalops

Ingredients
400 g chuck steak in 2 cm pieces
1 tbsp butter

2 carrots

2 parsnips

1 onion
1 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

10 allspice berries

1 tsp white peppercorns
water to cover
extra salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Peel and cut the carrots, parsnips and onions into large pieces. Heat the butter in a pan and brown the meat on all sides. Then remove the meat and add the carrots, parsnips and onion for a few minutes. Place the meat, carrots, parsnips and onion in a casserole, add the salt, bay leaf, allspice berries, white pepper. Add enough water to cover everything. Cover with a lid and cook for 1,5-2 hours. The meat should be very tender and almost fall to pieces when you cut it.

Remove the meat, some of vegetables and bay leaf. Whiz the remaining vegetables into a sauce and thin with water if desired. Add back the meat and vegetables, heat if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The kids and husband ate with good appetite and it is a dead easy dish to prepare but as I said, not a looker!