Spinach Lasagna. Lock. It. Down.

 Oh god, so good. SO. DAMN. GOOD.

This is not the first time I've made my own lasagna, but this was the first time that I had a real, honest-to-god hand-crank pasta maker. (you'll note that I say that as if these are rare and hard to find. although, to be fair, this was a brilliant find at Village Discount. well played, me. and excellent addition.)

Add in a bechamel sauce that is gratifyingly simple and a ragu recipe that I've been tinkering with and, quite frankly, would confidently call "nailed", and then some sweet Italian sausage and Italian cheeses? Blammo. Victory.

Now, none of this is as hard as you think and, technically, you don't really need the pasta maker. But I'd suggest it, if you'd like to make your own pasta more than just once or twice, that you go ahead and get one of these magical items. Even if it isn't from a thrift store, it's not expensive. And as nice as those electric ones are, they don't exactly make large sheets. Get both!

I am not paid by pasta makers.

For the spinach lasagna pasta, I used a recipe from an old Daring Bakers challenge - modified slightly for my needs, but essentially the same. All you need is...

- two jumbo eggs (I needed four large, but I had a lot of spinach involved, last time I used three eggs and it was fine.)
- ten ounces fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped finely
- three and a half cups of flour

Have a large clean surface. I put a large cutting board down on my counter and then heaped the flour there, made a large well in the circle. Add the eggs and the spinach and then mix them together, slowly pulling flour in as you stir. It'll be a rough mess for a while, but after you've got it all mixed in - start kneading and it will come together and be smooth and elastic. Knead for about three minutes. Your aim is to have the dough, when held in a ball in your hands, feel alive.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave on the counter at room temp for 30 minutes to 3 hours. I suggest going more towards the hours, it gives it more time to do...whatever exactly it's doing in there.

Follow the instructions on your machine how to roll out the pasta - mine you just want to lightly flour a surface and a bit of the dough, then roll it through. Start at either the 1 or 2 setting, then go on down to 5 or 6, depending on how thin you'd like your noodles to be.

Then boil the noodles - in batches of about four at a time - in salted water. You'll want to have them in the water for two minutes if fresh, but for 4 - 6 if dried first. Put them in a bowl of cold water after, then pat them off so they are dry and use in your lasagna dish.

Enjoy!

The sauce! Oh, this sauce. The bechamel is simple.

- 4 TBS butter
- 4 TBS flour
- 2 2/3 cup milk
- salt/pepper
- ground nutmeg, to taste (I used a teaspoon or so)

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sprinkle flour over it, then whisk until smooth and then keep stirring for three minutes. You're forming a delicious little roux. Don't worry, it's easier than you think it is.

Now, pour in the milk, slowly, whisking continually. Bring to a simmer and stir for three or four minutes - the mixture will thicken and you can cook it for another five minutes. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg (to taste).

Next up, the delicious ragu!
This is easy as well and you can customize it as much as you like. I made a sausage version and vegetarian version, simply by cooking up some Sweet Italian sausage in a different pan and sprinkling it in my meat-version.

This really is a fantastic sauce.

No, really. Do it. 

You'll need...

- 1 tin of diced tomato
- 1 small tin of tomato paste
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- sliced mushrooms (I probably used about 3/4 cup)
- basil, pepper, salt
- 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
- olive oil

What you want to do...

Splash some oil, basil, onion, and garlic in the bottom of a saucepan and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add in mushrooms and bell pepper, with a touch of butter, and cook for five minutes. Add in the tomato tins (both paste and diced) and stir. Add the balsamic and seasonings, then top with a lid and let simmer and reduce. It took about twenty minutes.

NOW.

On to the delicious assemblage.

This was the vegetarian version and, also, IT IS AMAZING. 

No, really. 

You'll need all the other ingredients, as well as

- grated Parmesan cheese (one package)
- a meat, if using, cooked and prepared to add with the ragu or use as desired in layers

I drizzled some oil on the bottom of a baking dish, then a layer of the pasta noodles. Spoon a thin layer of the white sauce over the noodles, followed by a thin layer of the red sauce. I then sprinkled some crumbled sausage on the top, but that was my choice - it's still super delicious even without the meat. Vegetarians love it! Then sprinkle cheese on top. Add another layer of noodles and repeat.

When you finish layering, you'll want to sprinkle the top of whole thing with cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 375 F. Then remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned. A knife inserted into the middle will come out hot. Let the dish rest for a few minutes so it settles more and then, slice and dig in.

ULTRA NOM. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs

 Absolutely delicious. Garlic, a hint of spice, amazing meatballs.

I may never order this anywhere ever again.

So, there's this guy and more than this guy, there's this book that he wrote, and I love it. I love him. I love the whole kit-n-kaboodle of the whole thing. You've heard me sing the praises of Jamie Oliver before and you'll hear it again, don't doubt it. But it's only reasonable! This fellow knows how to cook!

For my birthday, my mother sent me a copy of Jamie's Food Revolution, which I'd only been going on about since it hit the shelves, and was absolutely delighted to finally have it to add in my cramped cookbook cabinet. That cabinet needs to get a big bigger. I may need a new place to store them, they're all crammed in at angles and crafty little layers and so on and forth. Very impressive. I'm going to need more room.

Not the point. The point is, this book? Amazing. Go get it. Get two! One for you and one for a friend. His theory on this is that you pass it on, and they pass it on, and so on and so forth and then everyone knows how to make good food at home! This is the first recipe I've made out of Food Revolution (and I suspect this book is also Jamie's Ministry of Food over across the pond, but that's neither here nor there) and before I fall asleep, I'm going to share this with you all.

And then I'm going to sleep so well it'll be insane.

My roommate, Matt, in awe of the deliciousness.

I made very few alterations to the original recipe, just a pinch more of this or a bit of that. The usual.

My roommate, Matt, told me that it was so good it was like I slapped the women of Italy in the face. High praise indeed!

Ingredients:

- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (but, if your rosemary plant as dying and taken to someone's mother's house, then you could use dried - I still chopped it up)
- 12 saltines (or any plain cracker)
- 2 TSP dijon mustard (or a honey mustard is okay too)
- 1 pound ground beef
-  1 TBS dried oregano
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- olive oil

- small bunch of fresh basil (but dried is okay too)
- 1 medium onion
- 3 or 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp Vulcan Fire Salt (for a spicy kick, you can also use cayenne or a red chile)
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes (I get both the plain type and also the ones with garlic or balsamic or onion in them, feel free to mix it up but keep an eye on your taste)
- 6 - 8 mushrooms, chopped
- 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
- 1 pound dried spaghetti or penne or whichever
- Parmesan cheese, for grating (okay, this, I did not use. I had shredded Italian cheese. And I used it.)

Here is how to make the meatballs!

Raw! Like the cavemen liked it! 

Pick the rosemary off the stalks and chop them up or, if using dried rosemary, just chop that up too. Smash the crackers until fine, and add that to a bowl with the mustard, ground beef, rosemary, and oregano. Crack in the egg and add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Mix well. Go ahead, scrunch your hands up in there.

Turn it into meatballs - it should make about twenty-four, depending on the size you'd like. Drizzle them in olive oil and roll them about so they are all properly coated. Put them on a plate, cover, and pop in the fridge until ready.

These also freeze fantastically! I put some in waxed paper, to keep them from sticking I rolled them each separate and popped in them the freezer. Today, I just chucked a few in a hot skillet and BLAMMO delicious meatballs. I'm completely using this as one of my "stock up" recipes. Of which I can never get enough of. I need to start doing that more.

Back to the dinner.

To cook all!

Finely chop your onion and garlic and, if using a chile, finely slice it.

Put a pan of salted water on to boil and a heat a frying pan on med heat with a good glug or two of oil.

Add the onion to the frying pan and stir around for seven minutes, 'til softened and golden. Add in the garlic and chile and, if using fresh, large basil leaves (if not, shake in dried basil). Stir about for a moment. Add in the mushrooms and cook for a three minutes. Add in the tomatoes and balsamic, bring to boil and season to taste. Stick a lid on and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

Is the water boiling? If yes, add the pasta and cook to instructions, if not, move on.

Now. Get another frying pan. Add a bit of olive oil and your meatballs. Stir them around and cook for around eight to ten minutes - they should be nice and browned on the outside and when cut open, there should be no pink. If they are cooked through, add them to sauce and let simmer.

That one is broken because I ate part of it.

I am not ashamed.

I actually held back on a few of mine.

Now. Cook the pasta, if you haven't already, and reserve some of the cooking water in a cup. Then drain the pasta, back in the pot, and spoon half the sauce over it and add a splash of the pasta water to keep it nice and not claggy. This is where I added my set aside meat balls back to the sauce that was to be put on top the pasta. Serve, with sauce and meatballs on top, and sprinkle with some cheese or tiny (or shredded) basil leaves.

Really dig in, this is madly delicious. I had some garlic bread on the side of it and it was absolutely insanely delicious. I'm ready to call it a lockdown here and now, actually. But I will hold off.

'Cause I have a sneaky plan and until I'm ready to REALLY put into action, really unleash my crazy plan for this site here, I'll hold off on anything rash. Like locking something down a touch too early.

But do please make this, teach others, and really enjoy. It's brilliant as leftovers, as well, as I discovered today.