Lasagna alla Bolognese

 This is the big Daddy of all lasagnas usually served around the holidays and is usually made with fresh spinach pasta ( pasta verde) I like to make my bolognese sauce days ahead and freeze it. Then I make the pasta the day ahead and parboil and keep in the fridge. The day of all I have to do is make the bechamel, grate the parmigiana and assemble to bake! Of course you can use regular pasta or even regular fresh pasta but I can’t promise you won’t be haunted by all the Nonni rolling over in their graves😂

Ingredients

1 large pot bolognese 

1 pot bechamel 

1 recipe spinach pasta

2 cups parmigiana grated

Directions

Make bolognese a few days or even weeks ahead (freeze it if doing way ahead)

Make pasta sheets a day ahead no more than 24 hours

Grate cheese

Make bechamel right before cooking

In a 9 by 13 pan spread sauce to cover

Cover with lasagna sheets over lapping 

Add more sauce, then bechamel and sprinkle cheese

Repeat until almost no more sauce is left (you’ll need some for the topping)

Finish top layer with pasta, sauce and Parmesan

Cover with foil and bake 350 for 35-40 minutes until bubbly, remove foil and cook u see broiler to brown but keep the oven door open to watch very carefully!

Rest the lasagna for 10-15 minutes before cutting!

Gatò Di Patate (Italian Potato Pie)

This is my version of one of my Dad's recipes and was one of my favorite meals as a child, it is so good. Gato is usually made with left over mashed potatoes and cheeses and meats in the fridge but I love this dish so much that I make mashed potatoes just for Gato. I like to describe Gato as an Italian Shepherd's Pie.  The Italian word gatò comes from the French gâteau which means cake, a word left over from when the French  occupied Naples, Italy.
Ingredients
Prepared Mashed Potatoes (5 large potatoes or 2 1/2 pounds of russet)You want a real moist and creamy mashed potato for this recipe but if they are not just add some melted butter and milk to the mashed potatoes.
2 eggs beaten
4 -8 ounces diced sandwich meat2 such as ham or salami
6-8 ounces left over cheeses chopped in small pieces or grated: I like 1/2 Parmesan  1/2 Provolone
1/4 cup bread crumbs for the mixture and a little more for the topping
3 tablespoons olive oil for the mixture and a little more for the topping
a little salt and a lot of pepper added to the mashed potatoes
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a large lasagna pan with butter. Prepare your mashed potatoes and flavor with salt and a lot of pepper. Make sure it is light and creamy, adding more butter or milk if needed. Add the fillings: bread crumbs, eggs, olive oil, ham and cheese and mix well. Pour into the pan. Sprinkle a light veil of breadcrumbs and little more Parmesan over top and drizzle with some more olive oil. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until it it is golden brown and bubbly.

Empanadas (Meat Filling)

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry and it literally means to wrap or coat in bread. Empanadas have many different fillings from sweet to savory and each Latin country has their own version. My pastry dough recipe is from my Mom's friend from Cuba, or our Tia as we called her, and the filling is based on a Spanish style meat sauce.

Ingredients For Meat Filling  (Double this recipe if you want some great taco filling!)
1/2 pound ground meat of your choice ( I like half beef half pork)
11/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Latin Sofrito
1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tsp Sweet Spanish Paprika
1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup Dry White Wine
1/2 cup  tomato puree or left over sauce
Directions For Filling
Cook the meat just until done and set aside. In the same pan saute the sofrito in the oil until translucent. Add all of the spices and cook for a few minutes Add the wine and cook it for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat until it is reduced down to a semi thick paste like sauce. Add back the meat and taste to see if it needs more salt. Cover and keep on low heat for about 10 minutes. If it is too soggy add a little flour and cook for a minute. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool off so that it won't tear the pastry.  
Ingredients For Dough (You will also need a pot of canola oil for frying)
 11/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons crisco straight from the fridge
1 egg
  3-4 tablespoons white wine
a few tablespoons ice water reserved in case in it needs more moisture
Directions For Dough
Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse. Add crisco and pulse until it is the size of peas. Add the eggs and wine and pulse until it forms a dough and then immediately stop pulsing. if it does not seem wet enough add the water 1 tablespoon at a time pulsing to see if it forms. Form into a loaf and dump it on to a plastic wrap sheet and wrap up.  Place in the fridge for atleast an hour.
Directions For Preparing The Meat Empanadas
Heat your oil up to 375
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a 3-4 inch circle.
Place a small amount of meat into the center of each circle and fold over press down to release any air and seal with finger. Now take a fork and crimp as you slide the tongs onto the counter.
Fry until golden on each side and drain on paper towels.

Baked Ziti w/ Marinara (Ziti Al Forno)

Nothing says celebration to a southern Italian family more than baked pasta, and why not? It can feed a multitude and frees the cook up to enjoy her guests! Every celebration we had growing up: baby christening, first communion, confirmation, showers, holidays...had some kind of baked pasta dish. This recipe is a Neapolitan style baked pasta and is also known as Ziti Alforno or ziti cooked in the oven. My actual family recipe has no actual amounts because there really is no set amount for each ingredient as you just add as much as you like so if you are a sauce family more sauce is added etc....My only real tip for this is to make sure and add enough sauce or else you’ll have a dry casserole.

Ingredients
6 cups of Marinara Sauce (make a big pot a day ahead )

 8-10  ounces  Mozzarella

 Basil leaves  cut in to pieces *Italian housewife trick: Don't wash them off but rub with a dry towel, this keeps them nice and green.
1 pound Pasta: ziti, rigatoni, penne...Something with holes to hold the sauce and whistle a tune!
1- 1&1/2 cup Grated Cheese: Pecorino OR Parmesan Or a combo of the two

12 ounces whole milk ricotta (1 1/2 cups)

 OPTIONAL ADD IN EGGS: 2 hardboiled eggs peeled and sliced, My Zia Adele used these which is typically Neapolitan 

Also you can add 1 raw egg to the ricotta cheese for more of a casserole style dish or leave out if you want a looser consistency.
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs Plain for topping.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Equipment: 1 large lasagna or casserole dish. If I am making this for a crowd I buy the big aluminum ones from the dollar store and throw them away when finished.
Directions
Set oven to 500.
Boil the pasta until al dente (slightly undercooked) and drain reserving a 1/8-1/4 cup of pasta water.. Add the sauce and stir to coat, adding just enough pasta water to moisten and the starch will help it to set.
Spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan. Reserve a little cheese and bread crumbs for topping.

Mix all the ingredients together. 

Now finish off with a dusting of bread crumbs and reserved cheeses and drizzles of olive oil all over.

You only bake this for 12-16 minutes checking often because it is such a high heat. Remove and allow to cool off a bit, at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
OR you can cover it before baking and place in your fridge for over night and cook just before serving since it is so quick to cook, only about 15 minutes. But bring back to room temp before baking or else the inside will still be cool.
Buon Appetito!

Baked Pasta Bolognese (Ziti Al Forno Bolognese)

Baked Pasta Bolognese or Ziti Al Forno Bolgnese
This is another version of Ziti Al forno or baked pasta. My Mom used to make this each and every Sunday for lunch! I like to make this whenever we have a lot of Bolognese or Ragu (not the brand ragu means meat sauce in Italian) left over. Don't be intimidated by the fact that there are no amounts because there really is no set amount for each ingredient. This allows you customize the amount of cheese, sauce, or the size batch you want.
Ingredients
a large pot of Bolognese or a Ragu
4 cups of  Bechamel/Balsamella sauce 
Pasta with holes: penne, ziti, or rigatoni
1 cup Grated Parmesan (I use 3/4 Parmesan & 1/4 Romano)
Equipment
large lasagna pan or casserole dish
Directions
Set the oven to 350.
Cook pasta until al dente or just undercooked by 2 minutes, drain and then split between  2 bowls and add meat sauce to 1 bowl and bechamel to the other, stir well. Remove 1/2 cup of each bowls of pasta and mix together, set aside.You should now have 1 big bowl of meat pasta, 1 big bowl of bechamel pasta and 1 small bowl of both pastas mixed.
Spread olive oil all over the bottom of the pan and add 1/2 of the pasta with the meat sauce.
Now add 1/2 of the pasta with the bechamel sauce.
Finally add a layer of a little less than half the cheese.
Repeat process.
End with a topping of the pasta that you set aside and the left over cheese.
Cover and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow it to sit out covered  for 10 minutes before serving as this allow the flavors to mellow.

Stuffed Shells

Stuffed shells are perfect for pot-luck or for a  family that is sick or going through a tough time. It's nice to keep disposable foil pans with lids on hand just for this purpose. I have also made a tag to attach when sending this dish to a friend which I have posted at the bottom!

Ingredients

4 cups Tomato Sauce preferably w/ meat
1 box large pasta shells
4 cups mozzarella plus more for top
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated plus more for top
2 eggs, slightly beaten
15 ounces ricotta cheese
chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
a few gratings of nutmeg
olive oil
1 large lasagna pan or 2 smaller ones

Directions

Prepare the sauce and boil the shells (boil them just before using or else they will stick!)If they stick rinse under cool water while separating. Stirring a little more frequently also helps prevent stocking.
Mix all of the cheeses, parsley, salt & pepper, nutmeg, and eggs together
Coat the bottom of a large lasagna pan with half the sauce
Now stuff one shell at time and then squeeze it shut (not completely) and place them in the pan-you want to squeeze in as many as you can so they will be very tightly packed. Also, if you over stuff you will run out of the filling.
Coat the shells with the rest of the sauce and some more mozzarella & Parmesan. Drizzle olive oil all over.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese melts and then remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden crispy.
Or you can refrigerate until ready to bake.
Allow the shells to sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese to set.
 Here is a tag I made for when I deliver this meal to a friend. What I do is prepare the shells in a disposable pan and do not bake them. I cover the pan with foil and tape this tag with instructions on top. I usually send some bread and a simple bagged salad along as well.

Preheat oven to 375

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted

Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes or until the cheese is golden & crispy

Allow the shells to sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese to set.

Buon Appetito!

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients
2 pounds of eggplant (about 2 regular sized)
1 deep dish (pie plate) of 3 eggs beaten with 3 tablespoons of water to loosen up
1 deep dish (pie plate) of plain flour (Hint: use plenty so you wont have to refill!)
1 deep dish(pie plate) of plain or Italian dried bread crumbs (Hint: use plenty so you wont have to refill!)
1 cup Parmesan
olive oil
2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Directions
Slice pieces of eggplant into disks about 1/4 inch thick (leave skin on)
Place the eggplant in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with salt. Cover w/ paper towels and place heavy objects on top to allow the juices to be released, this takes about 30 minutes
Rinse off salt and wipe very dry with paper towels.
Now set up your 3 plates in this order ~flour~egg~bread crumbs~  and then a large tray.
Now dip in flour banging off any excess flour~ then egg allowing any excess to drip off~ then bread crumbs. Line all the pieces up on a tray to dry out a bit while you proceed.

~please see notes below before frying~

Heat up about 11/2-2 inches of olive oil to 325 and fry 2-3 eggplant slices at a time on both sides until golden brown. You may need to replace the oil half way through if it starts to turn dark.
Drain on paper towels
Layer in a lasagna pan: sauce, eggplant, Parmesan, Mozzarella, sauce, eggplant, Parmesan, Mozzarella ending with sauce and mozzarella only.
Bake at 350 covered for 35 - 40 minutes (At this point you can cool and refrigerate the eggplant until later and then just have to proceed with the last steps!)
And then 10 minutes uncovered until golden brown.
Allow the eggplant to sit 15 minutes before cutting into it or else it will ooze out everywhere.

Notes on Frying With Olive Oil:
I use a cast iron dutch oven but a Fry Daddy also works just make sure your pan has atleast 3 inches above the oil line.
Don't over heat the olive oil or else it will burn, 325 is the recommended temperature for frying with olive oil.