Sasha's Kitchen: Savory Lasagna Cupcakes

Cupcakes are so wonderful and cute and trendy these days, that I figured it was time to make some sort of savory cupcake. Now, while I am sure, you could make a cupcake that was cake-based, but still savory, I cam across a recipe for lasagna cupcakes made in ramekins which sounded like such a fun idea.  The recipe, which can be found here, was for white lasagna cupcakes. I liked the idea, but the cheeses and what not in the recipe didn't really d the trick for me, so I went ahead with the inspiration and created by own recipe for lasagna cupcakes. In addition, I made mine in silicon cupcake molds, which meant that they were a bit more of a true cupcake then if I had made them in ramekins., although perhaps a bit smaller. They were still delicious and made for a great Monday night dinner this week. This recipe should make about 8 or 9.

Sasha's Savory Lasagna Cupcakes
Pam to spray the silicon cupcake molds
4 T butter
1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles, cooked
1/2 cup of flour
3 plum tomatoes, cut into slices
2 cups of skim milk
1 large egg
2 T parsley
6oz of gruyere cheese (grated)
salt and pepper to taste
slice of freshly made mozzarella to top each cupcake
silicon cupcake tray

Spray the silicon cupcake tray with Pam or a similar spray.  Preheat the oven to 350. Boil and cook the lasagna in salted water (make sure to add salt so they don't stick together) until al dente, and drain and cool with cool running water. Using a rounded glass, cut circles out of each of the lasagna noodles. Place one of these circles in each of the cupcake molds, and set the others aside for now.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and add the flour, mixing until clumpy. Add the skim milk and whisk over medium heat for about fine minutes, until thickened. Turn the heat off, and whisk in the egg and parsley.  Add the grated gruyere and a half a cup of the parmesan, and stir to combine.

On top of each pasta circle in the silicon cupcake mold, add some of the filling and a slice of the plum tomato. The add another pasta round, and top with more filling and another slice of tomato to fill. Add another pasta round at the top (of you have enough) and top with a tomato and a slice of mozzarella. Sprinkle some parmesan on top, which should require another half cup.  You can fit more in if you use ramekins, but I found the cupcake molds to be just fine.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. The cheeses on top (parmesan and mozzarella) should be crispy and browned, just like lasagna. Using a spoon or spatula, press each of the "cupcakes" out of the molds to serve. We found that this recipe served two.

Sasha's Kitchen: Savory Lasagna Cupcakes

Jenn's Kitchen in NJ: Gram's Lasagna Recipe

This is my recipe for lasagna, a great meal for when the weather is cold or you need some comfort food. It is based on my grandmother Edna's recipe which, like her sticky buns, people rave about once they have tried it! The surprise ingredient is cottage cheese. I'm not really sure why Gram includes it but I do think it help prevent the lasagna from becoming too dry. One modification that I made was switching from the "old-fashioned" lasagna noodles - which have to be boiled and cooled before layering - to no-boil lasagna noodles which you can simply layer uncooked and they'll cook in the oven! It saves a lot of time and effort. The prep time is about 30 minutes (plus 1 hour in the oven) and a disposable aluminum pan saves on clean-up. If you have the room, it's not too much additional effort to make 2 pans and freeze one. While fresh-from-the-oven lasagna tastes the best, leftovers or from the freezer taste almost as wonderful :) I usually serve with garlic bread and a salad, though this time Eric made broccolini and it went very well together.

Ingredients (per 1 deep pan - which serves about 12):
~1.3 pounds hamburger
One 9 oz. box Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
24 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (3 bags)
1 large container (~1 lb.) cottage cheese (small curd)
1 large container (~2 lb.) ricotta cheese
2-3 jars (48 oz.) spaghetti sauce (better to have an extra one on hand - you don't want your lasagna to dry out and the noodles not cook enough while in the oven)
Generous amounts of seasonings: onion, garlic, oregano, basil, black pepper, etc.

Procedure:
1. Brown hamburger with onion, garlic, seasonings
2. Add this to spaghetti sauce in large pot on stove, add more seasonings to taste
3. After sauce is heated, use half of it to cover the bottom of the baking pan
4. Layer half of the noodles on top of the sauce
5. Spread cottage cheese on top of the noodles
6. Spread ricotta on top of the cottage cheese
7. Add 1 bag of mozzarella on top of the other cheeses
8. Layer the rest of the noodles on top of the cheeses
9. Add rest of the sauce on top of the noodles
10. Spread rest of the mozzarella on the very top
(If you have extra ingredients - usually cheese - you can keep layering)

Can now either freeze or bake (350 F for 1 hour for entire pan)

Jenn's Kitchen in NJ: Gram's Lasagna Recipe

Cindy's Kitchen In Brooklyn: Wine and Food Pairing - Italian Ripasso with Four Cheese Lasagna

Week 2 of my (apparently) weekly wine and food pairing column.

This week I made one of my best lasagnas of all time (I'm going to share my secrets below), and paired with a fabulous Ripasso. Ripasso is a wonderful red wine made in the Veneto from Corvina and Rondinella grapes, with complex black fruit flavors and a hint of smokiness. It is typically a higher end wine, generally made by better winemakers, as the process is more intensive. Traditionally, it is made by refermenting the young wine on the skins of the grapes in the early Spring immediately after the first fermentation ends. A more modern - and more expensive - technique is to referment the young wine with dried grapes the next winter after vintage. This gives the wine more body and depth. Producers may blend both techniques, giving the wine a unique freshness and complexity.

The Alpha Zeta Ripasso I drank stood up so well to my big and bold four cheese lasagna, and at the same time, its smooth tannins didn't overwhelm my secret bechamel sauce.

*About the recipe: I hardly ever measure anything, so all measurements are estimates. Just play around and have fun - it's NOT hard to make a good lasagna! For the noodles Barilla seems to be the choice of pastas for professional Italian chefs when they don't have time to make their own pasta; I have started using those "no boil" noodles and I'm impressed - they really help maintain the structure of the lasagna.

FOUR CHEESE SPINACH LASAGNA
INGREDIENTS
1 package lasagna noodles
8-10 ounces good quality tomato sauce (I almost always make my own - it's not that hard! I'll do a follow up post soon with my recipe)
12-16 ounces ricotta cheese (part skim is fine)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cups milk (2% fat or higher, you can also use cream or half and half; when I make lower-fat version of this recipe I like using Land-O-Lakes fat free half and half)
10 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (can also be part skim) (if you can't get fresh, try Polly-O; it melts quite well)
2-3 wedges of Original Laughing Cow cheese (yes my secret ingredient!)
4 ounces parmesan-reggiano, freshly grated (again if you cant get your hands on a block of it, go ahead and use the Kraft kind)
1 package frozen spinach, defrosted
salt and pepper
oregeno
garlic powder
red pepper flakes
fresh basil
drizzle of olive oil

Directions

1. Mix together the ricotta, the egg, and all but 2 ounces of the tomato sauce. Mix in some of the defrosted spinach. Make sure the mixture isn't too liquidy. Doing this will make layering easier.
   
2. Make a roux with the butter and flour. Melt the butter, then add the flour. Whisk for a minute until integrated - it should be clumpy. Slowly stir in the milk and whisk for another minute. Then add the laughing cow wedges and all but 2 ounces the mozzarella cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted and is thick and creamy. Keep on low heat until use, so that it doesn't harden.
   
3. In a lasagna pan, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom; this will help the lasagna stay moist and not stick to the pan.
   
4. Layer the noodles in a row, overlapping.
5. Layer the sauce/ricotta mixture evenly.
   
6. Top with the cheesy bechamel sauce. Top with grated parmesan-reggiano, garlic, oregano, chopped basil, rep pepper flakes and salt, all to taste. Just don't go overboard on the spices.
   
7. Repeat steps 4,5, and 6 two times.
   
8. Place one last layer of noodles on top. Top with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Add some fresh basil leaves on top. Drizzle with small amount of olive oil.
   
9. Bake in a 375 oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden bubbly on top.
   
10. Let rest for at least ten minutes before you cut in.

Enjoy!

Check out my other post on Wine and Food Pairing with New Zealand Pinot Noir and Lamb

Cindy's Kitchen In Brooklyn: Wine and Food Pairing - Italian Ripasso with Four Cheese Lasagna