Greens and ricotta lasagne

People have been known to say that I often make similar things.  And it is true I often do make something and then think maybe I could make it this way instead of how I did it last week, or maybe I could add some different ingredients for a different taste altogether.  That is why after not having made lasagne for years I am making it twice withinin a short time frame. This one is like a mixture of spanakopita and tomato lasagne,  It was great to have the combination of different flavours catching my tastebuds. I will certainly make this again.

Ingredients

400 gr diced tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste (without salt)
Bunch dill 15 gr
4 cloves of garlic
4 tsp crushed ginger root
1 leek

1 bunch endive

1/2 bunch silverbeet
375 gr ricotta
6 sheets lasagne pasta (type that does not require pre-cooking)
Parmesan

Mode

Preheat oven to 180c

Slice leek

Roughly chop endive, and silverbeet

Place vegetables in top of steamer

Crush 2 cloves of garlic

Add garlic and 2 tsp ginger to vegetables in steamer

Steam until tender

Meanwhile chop thyme

Crush 2 cloves garlic

Place tomatoes in saucepan on stove

Add thyme, 2tsp ginger, garlic and tomato paste

Stir to combine

Bring the boil and reduce to simmer

Simmer until thickened

Place a couple of tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish

Add layer of pasta

Add the steamed vegetables

Add another layer of pasta

Spoon half the ricotta over the sauce

Add another layer of pasta

Spoon half the tomato sauce over the pasta

Spoon the remaining half of the ricotta over the paster

Sprinkle with Parmesan

Add another layer of pasta

Cover with remaining sauce making sure that all the pasta is covered

Sprinkle with Parmesan

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes

Chicken balls with stirfried vegetables #blogjune Day 17

It's a cold wet night in Melbourne again.  Winter is here. What is more delicious than some chicken balls?  I flavoured them with thyme and dill, but I always like the combination of Mediterranean and Asian flavours, so I added ginger to the chicken mixture and bok choi to the vegetables. Dashes of sweet chilli sauce and Vietnamese fish sauce added to the Asian flavour.  This recipe served three, with nutty wholegrain brown rice.

Ingredients

700 gr minced chicken
1/4 bunch fresh dill
1 tbs dried thyme
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
Olive oil
2 carrots
6-8 green beans
1 stem bok choi
Sweet chilli sauce
Fish sauce

Mode

Crush garlic and ginger
Chop dill roughly
Crumble thyme  discarding stalks
Add chicken, garlic, ginger, thyme and dill to a bowl
Combine ingredients thoroughly with hands
Using a heaped soup spoon of mixture form meatballs 
Heat olive oil in pan on stove top
Add the meatballs and quickly seal on both sides
Cook for a few minutes turning constantly
Meanwhile, chop the beans, bok choi and carrots
Add to the meatballs and stir to combine adding more oil if needed
Sprinkle with chilli sauce and fish sauce
Mix to combine and ensure that all ingredients are covered with the sauces
Stirfry quickly until all ingredients are cooked

Eggplant Parmigiana #blogjune Day 16

On the weekend I went out for a very pleasant lunch with my friend, Letizia, and she ordered eggplant Parmigiana.  When it arrived, we were both quite surprised by its appearance as it had obviously been baked in a tray in layers and served as a slice, like lasagne. Neither of us had seen it cooked like that before.  So, of course, I wanted to experiment and work out how to cook it - especially when I saw some shiny eggplants when I was out shopping.

The end result was absolutely delicious, if I say so myself, but was also the result of what I had in hand in the kitchen (apart from the eggplant).  I am sure it could be equally nice with another herb.  I shall have to try some other variants.

Ingredients

1 eggplant
Salt
1 can diced tomatoes
Dried thyme
2 tbs tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger root
Olive oil
Parmesan

Mode

Slice the eggplant lengthwise as shown in photo
Place on a plate, sprinkle with salt and leave for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180c
Rinse the eggplant and put aside
Place the canned tomatoes in a saucepan on a fairly high flame
Add the tomato paste and stir to combine
Crush the garlic and ginger and add
Crumple the thyme and add, discarding stalks
Stir to combine
Bring tomato mixture to the boil and simmer to thicken
Meanwhile heat olive oil in a frying-pan
Fry the eggplant slices turning regularly
Place half the eggplant slices on the bottom of baking dish
Cover with half of the tomato sauce
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan
Place the remaining half of the eggplant on top
Cover with the rest of the tomato sauce
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.