Welcome back! In today’s post we have a guest contributor preparing and presenting a fantastic and delicious recipe, my eldest son Thom. In addition to his many creative talents including improv, writing and preforming music, he has now added cooking. I know that you are going to enjoy his post and his take on lasagna.
By Thom Hunt
On September 14, I married the hottest girl on planet Earth. In the weeks leading up to this momentous occasion, I would glance over our registry and wonder, “Why the heck do we need a dutch oven?” or “What the frick are we going to do with a garlic press?” Little did I know that, one weekend, when my then-fiancée was out of town, my boredom and sheer will to not wear pants would lead to a spark in passion and self-reliance. I had minimal tools and scarce ingredients, but I was able to turn a few cups of flour and some potatoes into an awesome gnocchi dish. Voila! Magic!
I’d go on to google a million different recipes and foods that I could make for myself – yes, it is for myself – my now-wife just happens to be the lucky benefactor of my culinary efforts and experiments. I made braised short-rib stew, ratatouille, chicken roasts, fresh breads and pastas among other things. While my sister is the ever-disciplined baker in the family, I lack the patience and precision required for all that. I would glance over a recipe, write down what I needed and how much of it I would need and go from there, googling different techniques, following my heart, and adjusting the recipe as I saw fit along the way.
I’ve always had a slight inclination toward the art of cooking, mostly due to dad’s weekend meals. As us kids have moved out and gone to school and got married and such, we would still find time to go over to mom and dad’s house. I’d arrive, laundry basket in hand. Mom would say, “Oh! Look what the cat dragged in!” Dad would be in the kitchen, listening to Bob Seger and preparing whichever recipe he decided on that week. The rest of us would gather in the living room and nosh on finger foods and appe-sides (Trademark Dad).
My wife noticed I had been acting strangely on the weekends. Normally, I would rather die than walk to the farmers’ market on a Saturday morning. Lately, I have been strolling up and down the long aisle of the bustling Fulton Street Farmers’ Market with no goal or specific intention in mind, just following my instincts. On October 6, however, I marched my way to the market, burdened with nothing but glorious purpose. I texted mom and dad, asking if I could make them a meal on Sunday. They might have thought this was a kind gesture on my part, but to be honest – I needed to use their kitchen to get this thing right (I live in an old house in Eastown and the floors are slanted and there is little to no countertop space.) I knew dad might be tempted to enter the kitchen, but I demanded sovereignty and independence.
For weeks, I couldn’t get it out of my head. It was all I could think about.
Lasagna.
Every morning I’d awake and for a few peaceful moments, I’d forget it was there. But the thought always came creeping back in like a vine slowly crawling up and eventually consuming a wall.
Lasagna.
Every night, I’d go over the ingredients list in my head. I dreamt of wild webs of mozzarella and noodles.
Lasagna.
For this recipe, I intended to do make everything from scratch. The ricotta, the noodles, the lamb ragu. You read that correctly, Lamb Ragu Lasagna. And I ended up totally nailing it. I really am incredible.
Ingredients & Recipe:
Ricotta
– 1 gallon whole milk (not UHT pasteurized)
– juice from 2 lemons
– 1 small carton heavy whipping cream
– 1 can of wheat beer
– 1 tsp kosher salt
– cheesecloth
– 2 large eggs
– 8oz coarsely shredded mozzarella
– ¼ cup fresh chopped rosemary or basil (rosemary compliments the lamb better)
– 1 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese (I used a parmesan/asiago blend)
In a 4qt pot, gradually heat whole milk, heavy whipping cream, and wheat beer to 180-200F, slowly stirring occasionally. It will eventually become frothy and steamy, but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and the salt, gently stirring to combine. Let the pot sit undisturbed for at least 10 minutes before moving curds to cheesecloth in a strainer atop a bowl. The leftover whey can be used for any recipe that calls for water. It’s neat. Let the curds strain for 30-60 min, depending on your preferred consistency. Transfer to mixing bowl and mix in remaining ingredients and chill in the refrigerator for ~10 minutes.
Lasagna Noodles
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– ½ cup semolina flour
– 2 large eggs
– 3 large egg yolks
– 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Make a mound of the flour on a clean surface. Hollow out a space in the center of the mound and add the eggs/yolks. With a fork, scramble the eggs in the center and gradually draw in more flour from the sides. As the dough thickens and becomes less runny, knead and fold the dough for 5-7 minutes. Wrap ball of dough in plastic wrap and let sit on counter for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cut dough ball in half or quarters, lightly flour countertop and begin rolling it out to desired thickness. Cut into roughly 12” long strips. Boil each strip for 30 seconds and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Let dry on a towel covered plate or countertop. Hopefully yields around 24 noodles.
Lamb Ragu
– 2 ½ -3lb of ground lamb
– 2 28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
– 1 6oz can tomato paste
– 1 medium sweet yellow onion, diced
– 4 garlic cloves, minced
– ¼ cup fresh chopped oregano
– 1 tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary
– 2 tsp kosher salt
– 1 cup of red wine (optional)
In a saucepan, combine the whole peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, oregano, half of the garlic, and rosemary over medium heat, stirring occasionally. In a separate pan or dutch oven, begin to brown the ground lamb over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Drain the grease and transfer the lamb to the first saucepan. Leave a little bit of lamb grease (weird phrase) in the pan and add the diced yellow onion and the remaining minced garlic. Cook until slightly brown and soft. I also added some red wine to them, because why not? Transfer to the other saucepan and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Assembly
– Large casserole pan, ideally 10”x14”
– Extra Virgin olive oil to grease pan
– 1lb of fresh mozzarella sliced into roughly ½” thick pieces
– 10-12 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
– as much shredded parmesan/asiago as you want, it’s a free country!
-Preheat oven to 375F
Spread ¼ of the lamb ragu on the bottom of the greased pan and top with noodles until covered followed by ¼ of the ricotta. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat until remaining ragu, noodles and ricotta are gone. Top with shredded parmesan/asiago and place sliced mozzarella pieces evenly across the top in a single layer. Sprinkle the basil leaves atop the cheese. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover the lasagna. It is also okay to skip the foil step, because I forgot to, and everything turned out just fine. Better than fine. Amazing! Anyway, put your beautiful creation into the oven for 45 minutes and chill out. You deserve a break! Check on your lasagna and make sure it is baking until hot and bubbly and the cheese on top is melted. Take a video for your snapchat or Instagram if you want.
Switch the oven to broil and make sure the lasagna is about 4” from the broiler. Broil until cheese is slightly blistered in spots, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes. Dig in!
