FLOWER POT KITCHEN: LASAGNE AL FORNO EAT YOURSELF SLIM

4 Oct 2013

LASAGNE AL FORNO EAT YOURSELF SLIM

EAT MYSELF SLIM DINNER'S

My gorgeous sumptuous lasagne, slightly tinkered with but still able to deliver the very best flavours, the smaller portion will save me 500 calories and still gives me mouth watering satisfaction.

MY LASAGNE AL FORNO

I am slowly losing the 3 stone (42lb) that I have gained since I started my blog! I don't believe in diets, I believe in small changes that will allow the gained lbs to drop OFF as slowly in the same way they dropped ON over the last three years! I know just by halving your portion size, lowering carbs and cooking your meals in a healthier way will do just that. My hypothesis is...that cooking all your own food removes hidden fats and salts which can allow you to eat your favourite foods in moderation and proportion, and keeping to these RDA'S...

1400kcal / Protein 70g / 100g carbs / sugar 50g / fat 40g / sats 20g / fibre 24g / sodium 2.4g / salt 4g

INGREDIENTS

(make 8 slim ptn / 4 regular)

FOR THE RAGU

1small onion fine diced

1 clove garlic grated

1 red pepper fine diced

500g lean beef or quorn mince

1 glass of red wine

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 sprig of oregano chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

FOR THE PASTA

600g 00 Caputo or Tipo flour

6 large eggs

FOR THE BECHAMEL

1 flat tbsp butter

1 tbsp plain flour

400ml skimmed milk

50g - 100g Parmesan grated

(reserve 30g for topping)

white pepper

PORTION SIZER

1 scone cutter

First I make the ragu and béchamel sauce, as the pasta takes very little time and dries out very quickly, therefore I like to have everything ready to assemble the lasagne.

TO MAKE THE RAGU

In a non stick pan without the temptation for oil gently dry fry the onion, garlic and red pepper together, once softened add the mince and brown off, drain off the fat through a sieve and return to the pan, add the red wine and deglaze the pan and reduce by two thirds. Add the tomatoes, oregano and bay leaf and simmer until medium thick, taste and season to your liken and leave to one side.

TO MAKE THE BECHAMEL SAUCE

Place the butter in your pan and gently melt, add the flour and mix well, cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add a generous glug of the milk and mix in until smooth, add some more and repeat until all the milk is used, you will have a thick ribbon sauce, add the Parmesan cheese, stir in well, taste and season with white pepper to taste, Parmesan cheese is high in sodium so doubtful you will need any salt to season the béchamel sauce.

NOW TO MAKE THE PASTA

This is such a simple and fun method, I find making my own pasta very satisfying and again knowing that everything I eat is free from additives and hidden chemicals or fats.

Tip your flour onto your work top and make a well in the centre, beat the eggs and pour into the well, slowly flick the flour into the egg and bring together slowly to form a stiff ball. Alternatively you can pop the ingredients into a blender instead and pulse until breadcrumbs and then bring together by hand to form a stiff ball instead. You need to knead the ball of dough until the gluten has come to life, you will feel this when the ball becomes springy and soft, probably 7-10 minutes.

Now to roll out, I do have a pasta machine but I like to be old fashioned and all the Nona's in Italy do not have pasta machines they use a rolling pin, it just takes some muscles to get the thinnest pasta. Dust your work top with some of the 00 flour and in small portions roll out into long thin oblongs, keep rolling until really thin and then cut into sheets. Lay on a damp tea towel and cover with another and use immediately as the pasta will want to dry out, if this happens, the edges will become crusty, this is not so bad when using in lasagne, but if you were to trim the sheets into linguine, or ravioli then you would have clumpy edges on your pasta.

TO ASSEMBLE YOUR LASAGNE

Pre heat your oven to 190 degrees. Take your Lasagne dish I often use a 2-3lb loaf tin, only because it is super deep and that is how my husband likes his lasagne. First layer in some of your ragu, then pasta sheets, followed by ragu, pasta sheets, half the béchamel, pasta sheet, ragu pasta sheet and finished off with either another layer of ragu and pasta or béchamel. Sprinkle the top of the béchamel with 30g of Parmesan, this will become crispy and add fantastic depth of flavour to the finished dish, a must in my opinion.

Bake for approx. 30-40 minutes at 190 degrees, if your top browns to much to soon, just cover with tinfoil. Leave to rest for 5 minutes and then for slim portion using a scone cutter and pallet knife cut out your slimmer portion and serve with a spinach and basil salad or some crusty bread.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.