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It's Gastronomicon T-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-me

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Ex

11:08 / 11.02.05

OK, this may be overtoss, but I'd make the different layers of the lasagne different vegetable 'themes'. Frinstance, fry the fennel, onion and celery in butter and stick them on the top layer in a pale, buttery slightly fibrous tranche, keeping the earthy blend of mushrooms, courgettes and peppers for the bottom layer.
You could have two different corresponding kinds of cheese.

I wouldn't say spinach in both the pasta and the filling is overkill. Spinach and mushroom work very nicely together. But I think if you stick in any more flavours, you might lose a sense of each. Although many people prefer a big heap of everything.

Go for fresh lasagne or preboil the dried kind; I find you can't expect the juice from the veg to cook the dried sort thoroughly and evenly in the casserole. Make everything (veg, pasta) fairly soft and edible first and then just stick it in the oven to warm it through and blend the flavours.

Add cream to the cheese sauce. It improves everything, unless you're a vegan.

If you're not attached on the crispy baked cheese on teh casserole, and you're entertaining/feeling very pretentious: assemble individual lasagnes on each (prewarmed) plate. Lay down a strip, dollop, fold, dollop, add another slice, dollop, fold, drizzle creamy sauce, sprinkle shaved parmesan. Ladies swoon. Yes they do.

11:28 / 11.02.05

ooh, yes, 'open' lasagne does look cool.

Apart from that my tip would be to cook, cook, cook the tomato sauce for as long as you can so that the flavour deepens. Two hours is not too long. It gets much more savoury and delightful - and then matches beautifully with the white/bechamel sauce.

To do that, you might want to cook the tomato sauce for a while before adding the veg - otherwise they'll be cooked to mush.

Psi-L is working in hell

11:44 / 11.02.05

An alternative method which I have used to great success for vegetable lasagne in the past is to roast the vegetables in the oven whilst you make the tomato sauce (and agree this should be cooking for hours). This way you avoid cooking the vegetables to mush in the tomato sauce and get a very sweet roasted taste too..

I usually roast red onion, garlic, courgette, aubergine, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and red and yellow peppers (and I think fennel would work here too)in a dish with a good sloshing of olive oil and some pepper until all is nicely roasted and pretty much cooked. (sometimes you need to drain some of the vegetable juices off while they are roasting, but these can go into the tomato sauce)

Then I assemble the lasage with a layer of pasta, thin layer of tomato sauce, layer of vegetables and a layer of cheese sauce, repeat again and then put some parmesan on the top, and all back in the oven to cook the pasta through.

13:10 / 11.02.05

yuuuuuuuuuuuuuum. that sounds amazing.

14:46 / 11.02.05

Ex -I'm swooning. Right now. Definitely going to try the layers thing, sounds like a good way of stopping all the different flavours from overpowering each other, and making it look good. Yes, it is fresh pasta that I'll be using, so I'll probably forgo the spinach in the lasagne itself -it'll probably be a bit more strongly flavoured that the dried stuff (I hope, at least) and that'll be enough.

So -top layer roasted courgettes, peppers, mushrooms and half an onion, and the bottom layer fennel, celery and the other half of the onion fried in butter. Thanks for the help, people, looking forward to cooking all this!

09:54 / 14.02.05

I am currently contemplating what to make for a party - vegetarian small snacks that are not too messy and can be eaten without cutlery, preferably. Unfortunately, my previous culinary attempts at party food have not always been entirely successful - miniature cheesecakes that melted into a gooey heap, vile fizzy orange creations, pots of chocolate fondue that smashed all over the floor, etc. I'd love to hear any suggestions (savoury or sweet) for this kind of thing.

10:20 / 14.02.05

I'm just about to eat some leftover lasagne that Loomis made last night, inspired by this thread - with the roasted veg and everything. It's gorgeous.

I'll have a think about party nibbles. We were at a 'do' the other night (the launch of the Warhol exhibition here) and the 'canapes' were all things like teeny wee mouth-sized hamburghers, onion rings, little muffins with cream cheese - basically junk food in miniature. Very cute.

10:28 / 14.02.05

I am currently contemplating what to make for a party - vegetarian small snacks that are not too messy and can be eaten without cutlery, preferably.

Nori rolls filled with different combinations of tofu, cucumber, red pepper, carrot, avocado.

Psi-L is working in hell

10:35 / 14.02.05

How about bite size crostini with different toppings?

The possibilities are endless, you can go for basic things like humous, olive tapenade etc, or be creative and go for roasted cherry tomatoes and olives, broad beans, goats cheese and lemon juice, mozarella and roasted peppers...

I once had a fried slices of Haloumi cheese covered in chilli soaked olive oil...was very delicious...I think it might be a Nigella Lawson recipe?

Ooo I want a party now...

10:39 / 14.02.05

Squirmelia, do you have access to a deep fat fryer? If so then things like bhajis and pakora are good things to make, particularly bhajis, which are a lot less stodgy when you make them yourself (even if they are slightly more oily). I have a recipe for them, which is good but not with me at work -let me know if they're an option, though, and I'll post it here!

The lasagnes were very good, by the way, so thanks to everyone who weighed in with advice for me (and there were lots of leftovers which turned out well given the hangover the next day)

11:22 / 14.02.05

Nori rolls are definitely a good plan and inarizushi (deep fried tofu pockets). I can make those quite successfully, if I can find the ingredients.

I don't have access to a deep fat fryer, unfortunately.

For crostini, would I just cut up a baguette and maybe add some oil, or is it more complicated than that?

Psi-L is working in hell

11:31 / 14.02.05

Yeah, I'd just slice up thinnish baguettes, so the resulting slices will be bite size, then you could toast a little on each side, perhaps drizzle a little olive oil over each slice, and then add your topping...It actually helps if the bread is a little stale as you get more solid slices.

11:31 / 14.02.05

You don't really need a deep fat fryer - you can fry just fine with oil in a pan, and a metal slooted spoon to lift things out as they cook. Be very very careful though - the main benefit of deep fat fryers is they're less likely to burst into flames and leave your home a smouldering wreck. That would spoil the party.

Goodness Gracious Meme

16:59 / 14.02.05

Griddled Halloumi makes an excellent party snack. If you want to make it less messy/posh it up a bit.

Dry fry halloumi in a hot pan, checking/turning as it burns easily.

While yr doing, lightly grill/toast pitta breads.

Cut halloumi and pitta breads into 'fingers' and make up mini-sandwiches, squeezing a little lemon juice onto halloumi/adding a little bit of rocket to the filling.

Yummy.

Also, vegetarian pate is easy and tasty, mushroom pate is niiiice. Fry some garlic in butter, add massesx of mushrooms/splash of white wine/tot of mustard and fry on low heat until theybecome mush. Run through a blender or mash (depending on tools/desired consistence), turn into a dish and leave to cool/refridgerate.

Other variations:

black olive/feta/lemon juice
chestnut/mushroom/red wine/black pepper
leeks/silton (you'll need to blend this one, or chop the leeks very finely.)

Goodness Gracious Meme

17:07 / 14.02.05

I love the 'mini junk foods' thing, that's *great*

19:52 / 14.02.05

i did bangers and mash for twenty people on christmas day last year - but i got some really fat fantastic pork/beef sausages italians still make on the victorian goldfields 150 yrs on [which you boil first, then fry - in mucho butter!], and the mash was white sweet potato with some roast capsicum and garlic swirled through. i deglazed the bangers w and little of the bubbly we had sloshing about and bingo, a thin gravy! mmmmmmm.....

only reminded 'cause this thread and the fact i have less tasty sausages on bread w/ plastic cheese for lunch... sometimes i eat better, really...

20:10 / 06.03.05

Two top things cooked up recently:

1. Pasticcio

Can't get enough of this, it's great, although this may be a really weird recipe for it. Essentially: you boil up two mugs of dried pasta, fusili or penne by preference. Meanwhile, fry an onion, some mince, and a pepper. In a third bowl, beat together two eggs, some nutmeg, and about 3-400 ml of yoghurt. When it's all done, you put down a layer of pasta in a lasagne-type dish, a layer of meat, a second layer of pasta and then one of meat, and then you cover the top with the yoghurt-egg mixture. Grate cheese over the top and bake for half an hour.

You end up with this thing that's a lot like simple lasagne with an omelette on the top. It's great, dead easy.

2.

This has no name, because it's basically all about the ingredients. In our case: boil up a mug of pasta per person. Over the top of this pan, steam some broccoli, plus any other vegetables you feel might suit - I used up some asparagus lying around. After about twenty minutes, drain the pasta, stick it in a bowl, add the green vegetables, and 1/4 to 1/3 of a can of pink salmon. Sprinkle with basil and parsley, both fresh if possible, douse in double cream, and if it's gone cold (as it did because I dallied in the assembly) microwave it on full for 60 seconds.

Result: dead simple dinner in twenty minutes, and it tastes great.

What's more, the dish becomes a whole lot classier when you use good salmon fillet instead of the tinned stuff, but it dresses up and down. Plus, takes twenty minutes tops to prepare, most of which is waiting for stuff to boil.

18:22 / 07.03.05

Spinach soup - where you cant taste the spinach, but you get the benefit.

Chicken stock cube, onion/garlic/spinach fried in a pan till wilted, boil some potatoes in some stock (half your above cube if you like), blend lightly, healthy, nutisous meals ahoy!

tom-karika nukes it from orbit

19:55 / 07.03.05

One of my own (hasn't got a name yet, so lets call it Sausage Suprise)

Needs: Big pile of mushrooms, three leeks, Garlic, Onion, Tomato Pulp, Oregano (Dried), Basil, Olive Oil (about a gallon), four small sausages per person

Fry sausages in some olive oil, easy peasy. Chop them in half once they're done.

Whilst doing that chop up the mushrooms, onions and leeks. Chuck them in a saucepan with LOTS of olive oil. Soften them, but not completely. Add some oregano and basil. Add some more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Might want to put the garlic in around now too.

Once the mushrooms and leeks are almost soft, chuck in a can full of tomato pulp. Add some more oregano and a lot more olive oil, simmer for about ten minutes.

Once the veg has simmered for a bit, put the cut-up sausages in to the mix. Maybe add some more salt and garlic, who knows.

Leave this lot to simmer with the sausages in for another ten minutes. Serve with pasta, or on its own if you have a high veg-to-sausage ratio.

10:55 / 09.03.05

Pasticcio is, as Paleface says, excellent -lots richer than a lasagne as well, the yoghurt and egg rather than a cheese sauce is excellent.

This weekend, I discovered pine kernels as a cooking ingredient. I didn't like them particularly as a child, so I'd kind of fogotten they existed until I made onion and chilli pies (which called for them to be sprinkled atop) yesterday. And, they're so good! And they taste like tiny pine cones, something which unaccountably enough escaped my notice when I was a kid. No recipes yet, since I don't actually know of much to do with them (other than stacking them with onions on top of puff pastry) -just wanted to share the joy of finding a new thing to cook with...

Goodness Gracious Meme

12:39 / 09.03.05

mmm. pine kernels are great.

Try roasting them with whole garlic bulbs. (bulbs need about half hour, kernels about 5-10mins) Then mash the garlic and mix with kernels.

A delish base - spread on crostini, use as a sauce base, add oilive oil for a dressing etcetcetc

13:19 / 31.03.05

Does anyone know how to make a curry sauce approximating the one Wagamama uses in it's Chicken Katsu Curry?

It's so lovely.

13:36 / 31.03.05

There is a wagamama's cookbook you can get. Might be worth popping into a bookstore and having a sneaky read to see if that recipe is in it.

13:48 / 31.03.05

It's not. I've got it, and it's very good - especially for dressings but no Curry Sauce.

I think it's cos they realise if they do include it a large number of their regular customers will stop going!

13:52 / 31.03.05

It's not. I've got it, and it's very good - especially for dressings but no Curry Sauce.

I think it's cos they realise if they do include it a large number of their regular customers will stop going!

16:03 / 01.04.05

carrot cake

preheat oven to 350F

2 cups sugar
1.25 cups canola or veg oil

blend well

add 2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
.25 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

blend

add 3 cups freshly grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
.75 cup currants

distribute between two buttered, wax-paper-lined, 9" cake pans

bake 40 min or until done

Just made it this morning, and thought it was quite good, though lacking a little zing. I'll add .25 cup pineapple juice and a spoonful of grated ginger next time.

18:44 / 01.04.05

For more zing, you could also try a carrot cake topping one of my pals at work made -marscapone cheese blended with the zest (and, I think some of the juice) of a whole orange. It worked really well, nice to have something light under what was a fairly stodgy cake. Although, adding ginger is generally a good idea too, in pretty much any recipe.

19:58 / 01.04.05

Mmmmmmascarpone. I bet the zest would make it very pretty.

17:32 / 28.09.05

I made this delicious risotto the other night from random ingredients in the fridge:

Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients
1 leek, cut in half lengthways then across into half moons
Large handful of peas
Large handful of French beans, cut into inch-long pieces
1 courgette cut the same as the leek
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
1.5-2 pints of vegetable stock
1.5 cups arborio rice
Small glass of white wine
½ tin cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

Directions
1. Fry the white part of the leek and the garlic in a little olive oil on a medium heat for a few minutes.
2. Add the rice and fry it for a minute, then add the glass of wine and stir it through.
3. Add a splash of stock, and stir until it begins to absorb into the rice. Continue adding a little stock at a time, and keep stirring.
4. While the risotto is simmering, fry the remaining vegetables in a little olive oil in a separate pan until just cooked (keep the peas till last).
5. After about 20 minutes all the stock will be absorbed and the rice will be soft. Add cooked vegetables and cannelini beans. Stir through for a minute or two, then serve.

17:48 / 28.09.05

If anyone has some, I need a good simple recipe for pike on the barbecue.

17:54 / 28.09.05

My current favourite thing is roasted tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and thyme.

yum!

1. Cut in half a load of cherry tomatoes then add 4-5 whole cloves of garlic just chopped in half - then add a load of fresh thyme. Cover with a good glug of olive oil and stick in a roasting tray

2. Roast at about 220 for about 30- 40 minutes or until the tomatoes have gone squishy and caramelized.

3. Add a good pinch of sea salt and a grind of black pepper.

I eat this on toast as a kind of brushetta for breakfast/ brunch- i also love this mixed in with Penne pasta- maybe with a red pepper roasted in with the tomatoes.

I especially like it cos its been my first year growing my own tomatoes and thyme in our garden - very rewarding!

18:03 / 28.09.05

Baked Camembert- you get one of those whole camembert in the circular wooden box, take the wrapper off obviously, push shards of garlic and bits of thyme or rosemary into the top of it and a splash of white wine, put the top back on and bake it between 150-200 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes.
Then you get crusty bread (preferably my homemade delicious sundried tomato and olive ciabatta) rip it up and dip it in the cheese, tear and share style.
Easiest fondue in the world, no washing up except a plate or two and maybe a fork to dig out the last bits, excellent vegetarian dinner party starter because it's fun to fight over the cheese with bits of bread. I recommend buying two camembert because it's always really popular and goes dead quick, and the look on your friends faces as you bring out ANOTHER delicious baked cheese is priceless.

Those roast tomatoes sound delicious- I might put some pine nuts in with them...

18:18 / 28.09.05

Quants its a great recipe- i seem to remember liking the sound of it from before

i will definitely be trying it though cos i haven't yet- i like the pine nuts idea good for the pasta version- but honetly do the toms with just fresh thyme and garlic and squidge it on some nice wholemeal toast- it is the acest.

18:26 / 28.09.05

Loomis, that risotto sound stunning. I and the lad tried making risotto with dry vermouth rather than white wine over the weekend, and that was very, very good -just that little bit more edge. I'd also like to point out that whilst the idea was from a Jamie Oliver supplement in the Saturday Grauniad we would totally have thought of it ourselves given time.

Baked Camenbert. I must try that. Soon.

19:57 / 28.09.05

Ah, I have heard of using vermouth in risotto once before. I must try it, especially since I have a bottle of the stuff burning a hole in the liquor cabinet. I bought it for making cocktails but it's nasty on its own. Who knew dry vermouth would be so shit when rosso is so good?

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