FV33-06-1110

Original Recipe: Molly Stevens
Bon Appetit | April 2007

I tried this one night and I loved the concept behind it,,, but sad to say, I'm not bowled over by the whole thing. I guess it came out the way it should but it's just not that usual dish that my palette is accustomed to. It looked very appetizing, there is a wow factor when you serve it. The cream colour of the sauce, the brown of the pork and the green of the peas, it's a beautiful combination. 

I eneded up with a pasta with such a strong character. Flavours were killing each other to the finish line. Deeply flavoured pork and pungent Pecorino Romano might be too much for my delicate buds. This is very, very, very Italian and I'm pretty much Asian where everything should either be sweet or greasy :P Maybe this is how it's supposed to taste but it's just not working for me like the other Italian dishes I'm so in love with.

I'm stubborn so I'll do this again but with Pancetta, easy and more subtle than the original version.

Anywho, here is the recipe.

Tip 1: If you have no patience, don't attempt the pork belly part, just buy ready made pancetta

INGREDIENTS:
Pork Belly
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 kilo fresh pork belly
1 small onion, quartered
1 small carrot, peeled, quartered
1/2 celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons (or more) dry white wine
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup dry white wine

Spagehetti Carbonara
1/2 kilo spaghetti
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas or frozen petite peas, thawed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Serves 4-6

Pork Belly
Rub coarse salt and coriander into pork belly. Cover and chill at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 275°F. Place pork belly in large ovenproof saucepan. Add onion, next 7 ingredients. Bring to boil, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until pork is tender, turning every 30 minutes, about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Cover and chill at least 1 day and up to 2 days.

Discard any solidified fat on surface of pork belly mixture. Remove pork from cooking liquid, scraping any gelatinous mixture back int saucepan. Rewarm mixture in saucepan. Strain liquid into measuring cup, adding white wine if necessary to measure 1/2 cup. Cut rind and all but 1/4-inch fat layer of pork belly. Slice pork cross wise in 1/2-inch slices, then cut slices crosswise into 1/2-inch thick strips.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork belly and cook until browned on all sides, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add pork cooking liquid and 1/4 cup wine. Bring to boil then cover to keep warm. Take off from direct heat.

Spaghetti Carbonara
Cook spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water with a knob of butter until al dente, stirring occassionally. Add peas; cook for a further 1 minute.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romana cheese and parsley; set aside.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Whisk 1/4 cup hot cooking liquid into egg misture. Add pasta; toss to coat. Add pasta mixture to skillet with pork and toss. Add more cooking liquid by tablespoons if dry. Season generously with black pepper. Divide among bowls and serve. Have the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese alongside for the taking. 

If you like strong flavours, don't mind me, cook this and enjoy!

FV08-06-0910

I love pasta. I love everything about it. Pasta dishes rarely disappoints me, so it's a staple in my top 3 back-up food whenever we dine out.

I don't regard pasta the same way if I have to cook it at home though. Unless it's Macaroni and Cheese or Spaghetti Bolognese, I'll pass. Needless to say, baking Lasagna gives me chills.

I always have this worrying visual in my head whenever I think of baking lasagna,,, a huge baking dish that tastes awful and it was either going down the trash or I'm sitting on the kitchen floor, eating it all by myself because no one else will touch it. 

So, yes, I finally faced my fears and I'm quite happy to report that my first lasagna was a success. Only a small piece was left and got rave reviews. They said it's moist, not too salty, not too cheesy, the flavours didn't compete with each other, it was just perfect!

Tip 1: If you're using no-cook lasagna sheet (I used Barilla), don't leave it as is but also don't boil it, because it's thinner than normal sheets. Soak the sheets in pre-boiled hot water with 2 tablespoons butter for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. 
Tip 2: Make extra sauce if you want your lasagna with sauce on it.
Tip 3: Adjust the amount of dried pepper flakes as you wish.
Tip 4: Lasagna can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge.

This took me an hour and a half to bake... yes, yes, you'll take maybe an hour.

INGREDIENTS for Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
450 grams ounces lean ground beef
30-ounce crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes

INGREDIENTS for Lasagna
15 lasagna sheets/pasta
850 grams ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
2 large eggs, beaten
4 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Serves 6-8 hearty portions

Directions For Sauce:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 6 cups, stirring occassionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

Directions For Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350F. Soak no-cook lasagna sheets in a pre-boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Mix ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9x3-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese spreading with spatula to cover (careful, sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (May refrigerate at this stage)

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve this with Garlic Toast on the side, Tabasco sauce and extra Parmesan cheese and let your guests enjoy!

Acoustic Chef, cookin’ one tune at a time!

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