Thursday, March 27, 2014

.:il pasticcio:.



hello there, little chefs... when I left you we had a delicious "ragout" boiling...
today you have the "besciamella" recipe and how to put it all together...

some considerations about both sauces: 
point 1 - unlike the ragout that you can freeze, besciamella  is done when you will use it... it should be hot so that you can spread it, once it gets cold it gets stiff and bye bye white sauce... 
point 2 - you can use the making of the pasticcio  with other sauces besides the bolognesa sauce... I particularly like radicchio & salsiccia it is a nice version of the same old lasagna...
point 3 - you can use the white sauce for other things... I really like to use it to prepare pancakes... yep, try filling some with fresh asparagus and white sauce and bake them with some grated cheese over... heavenly, trust me... 




ok, before we start, the first thing you should know is: do NOT expect ham or that funny fake yellow mozzarella cheese people usually associate lasagna with there in brazil... you'll have none of that, but I assure you it is worth trying... ^^

so, let's cut to the ingredients, shall we?
you'll need some butter/margarine, really, in this case it doesn't make that much of a difference... the margarine makes it a little less creamy, which goes fine if your ragout is consistent (like when you defrost it and it looses water)...
for me about 100/125 gr will do the job...


  • 100/125 gr of margarine
  • 4 tablespoons of white flour
  • 1 L of milk
  • salt (I use course because it is already there on the counter, but use it to your taste)
  • ground nutmeg (if you are a fan you can add black pepper as well, not too shabby... again, we had to adapt to the taste of the little lady...)



get a large pan (if possible heavy bottomed to make it easier for you to whisk on... ;) and sth to mix the white sauce (the utensil that helps get the sauce smooth is the whisker, if you do better with another route keep on it... )



first melt all of your butter on medium heat (do NOT let it boil, it tastes horrible later... not that I would know that from experience... lol)

then lower the heat to minimum and start adding your flour... I make the spoons really generous... and this is the part where you'll want to keep mixing vigorously to avoid lumps... I add the flour with the left hand while the right one keeps whisking... if you feel more comfortable you can ask for a little help... (obviously the helper can pour the wine when the flour is already mixed... ^^ it is always better to have some wine when cooking italian food, for the ambience and all that... )



when you are done with the flour the mixture should look like this... and the it is time to add the milk... do not linger with the flour mixture or you will burn everything, so better have everything close at hand... (i.e. carton of milk within your reach and already opened...)



pour the milk slowly and keep mixing...if you have time and patience go slowly and give time for the whole to incorporate (if you are lazy, or have a frenzied two-year-old in tow begging to help, just keep on pouring the milk slowly and mixing, give more time to your boil and enjoy your free hands period tossing ball or eating grated "parmiggiano" with said toddler...)

when the last of the milk is added it is time to mix in the salt and the nutmeg (black pepper as well if you are going for it) in before it gets too dense to have a uniform flavour all through... also taste it... you can fix it later if it is not the way you like it, but it is not the same...



when all the ingredients are in, bring the whole to a boil and let it simmer a bit... you will get a nice creamy white sauce...

now for the layers...



you will need

  1. your ragout, 
  2. besciamella, 
  3. lasagna sheets (check the refrigerated ones that go straight in the oven, I particularly like thin sheets, but whatever rows your boat I say... again, if you choose the wrong lasagna it is not a disaster, the sauce can save a "pasticcio" but if you mess up the sauce I suggest you go eat out because the end result will be nothing short of gruesome... so here I go again: taste it!!!
  4. grated cheese (parmiggiano, grana, whatever GOOD cheese you find, in rio blue label works just fine)
  5. olive oil
  6. the cute toddler helper is oprional, but if you have one you are lucky... =)

some people (ok, most people if not all of them) prefer to have the bottom layer prepared with the bolognese sauce (the ragout) but my OCD self hates to serve a piece of the lasagna and have all those random pieces of meat flying around on the bottom of the roasting dish, so instead I dose some olive oil at the bottom... this way the bottom layer doesn't get dry and you have no mess left when you serve your portions... a win-win situation for me... 

yeah, I know.. go on, laugh all you want, but just to remind you:
I let my daughter help me make the layers...  


now, how is that for balance, hmmm... 

ok, so now you have your first layer done, try and get everything you need close at hand because both sauces you are using are boiling hot and you don't want the pasta to curl up with the heat while you run from one place to the other to get the ladles full of yummines... (sure, that is a word... says who? me... )

now the shocker, you don't need (and really mustn't) make separate layers, that is why the name is "pasticcio" (mess, remember?) because you make a big mess preparing it... and it is also kind of fun to make, if you have the right company, and wine, of course...

so put more or less 2/1 of red/white sauce (2 parts red, 1 part white) on the lasagna sheet... 



spread both all over the dish with a spoon and put some cheese over it... in case you were wondering, yeah, the little lady is in charge of the pasta and the cheese while I cover the boiling hot sauces... 


then cover it with another sheet of pasta and repeat... see? there, easy...  for the last layer I usually get the white sauce first, spread it and then add the red sauce over it... and be generous with the cheese... 


now all that is left is to bake it according to the pasta's instructions... can you see how excited someone is about cooking? uhum... I know, I encourage her to watch "junior master chef" just to be on the safe side... lol... 

enjoy it! ah, and invite your friends... 
buon appetito! 






























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