When I went gluten-free, lasagne was not one of the foods I craved. It isn't that I don't love lasagne - during my brief stint as a vegan (I was young and in love and had yet to discover the pleasures of local eggs, cheese, and proteins) I figured out how to make a version of the dish that even non-vegans could enjoy (though I'm still not convinced that soy bechamel actually tastes good).
My reason for not missing lasagne is quite simple, actually. I didn't grow up eating it. In my parents' home, comfort food was stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, meat-and-tomato-and-biscuit casseroles - the perfect melding of Jewish diaspora staples and 1970s Family Circle dining. Lasagne was something I ate at other people's homes. I didn't like the ricotta included in most American-Italian recipes (it was too sweet and grainy) and the tomato sauce was usually bland and - tomatoey.
Until I was a teenager, I hated tomato sauce.
I'm baffled by this now. How could anyone dislike the savory and bright flavors of tomato? How could anyone ask for pasta with butter when cauldrons of tomato sauce bubbled in a back kitchen?
I think part of the reason I hated tomato sauce was the trap my mother set when she made hers. It was full of onions. More than any other food, onions were my enemy. Raw or cooked, they represented a threat to my eating enjoyment. The only way onions could be made palatable - something I discovered only as a teenager - was if they were cooked within inches of their oniony lives. Caramelized to the point of mush. If, after cooking, the onion maintained any kind of structure, it was pushed to the side of my plate. The way my mother made tomato sauce, I'd end up with a small pile of onions on my plate at the conclusion of the meal. I had it in my head that tomato sauce was an enemy, concealing nemesis onion from me just enough to trick me into biting into some.
Tomato sauced ceased to be an enemy when I (finally) discovered a recipe that contained exactly zero onions. It was a simple recipe that to this day my sister and I use as our 'house' tomato sauce when fresh tomatoes are unavailable: In 1/2 C olive oil, saute 1 head garlic. When cooked but not browned, add 1 T parsley flakes, 1 t basil, 1 t salt, 1 T sugar, 2 cans of San Marzano tomato puree. 2 cans of water, black pepper or red pepper to taste. Cook until reduced by half. Enjoy.
And just like that, tomato sauce became my friend.
This month's Daring Baker challenge had nothing, in fact, do do with tomato sauce. The challenge's goal was to teach everyone how to make fresh pasta dough - and learn a delicious ragu recipe in the process.
I'm pretty fluent in pasta dough. One of my favorite recipes is one I learned from Chef David Kinch of Manresa back when I worked for him at Sent Sovi. It was my duty to make pasta dough for the restaurant. The restaurant I used was one the chef learned while working at a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Germany. It was fragrant and herbal and came out perfectly every time.
But I did not have a gluten-free version I liked. I don't eat corn or use potato starch in my cooking so most of the recipes I researched wouldn't work. The recipe offered in the challenge was corn and potato-based. It wouldn't work for me. So I started experimenting, which I documented here.
I ended up with a recipe that not only made beautiful pasta sheets, but it became a lovely ravioli, and, I imagine, a devious fresh pasta. It needs to be cooked before it is used - I found that when used raw, the pasta became mushy and lacked bite.
The ragu recipe in the challenge also wasn't going to work for me. I don't eat red meat (though I do cook it for clients when they ask). So I adapted the recipe for chicken thighs (not trimmed of fat at all) and omitted the milk and added butter. For smokiness I added smoked paprika. It was possibly one of the best chicken-based sauces I've ever eaten. Mom loved it too.
The bechamel was the worst part of the recipe for me, mostly because I decided to do something REALLY dumb - I used rice flour instead of an all-starch mixture. The benefit of rice flour is that it is VERY stable. The downside is that it takes FOREVER to cook - unless it is fully gelatinized, rice has an unpleasant grainy mouthfeel (why I don't use it in most baked goods...). So do yourself a favor. Use your favorite starch in your bechamel recipe. Don't do what I did unless you have at least 30 minutes to cook it.
I ended up putting the recipe together twice - once with my unsuccessful, uncooked pasta dough and once with my successful pasta dough. The first one tasted great when fresh from the oven, but was a mess when reheated the next day. It looks pretty jolly, though (I baked it in a loaf pan to conserve the sauces for another attempt the next day):
The successful pasta dough worked much better. The dough kept its bite and held up well on the second day. If I could have done anything different, it would have been to not have made the unsuccessful lasagne at all.
Here's how the successful lasagne looked:
From above:
The lasagne, in the terrine.
Cake and Commerce's Gluten-Free, beef and pork-free adaptation of Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna
Serves 6-8 people, depending on appetite
Lasagne Assembly:
- 1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 recipe pasta dough, sheeted and cooked (see below)
- 1 recipe Ragout/Ragu (see below)
- 1 recipe Bechamel (see below)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Oil or line with parchment (depending on how much you like scrubbing pans) a casserole (glass/metal/ceramic). Spread bechamel all over the bottom. Place several slightly-overlapping COOKED sheets of dough on the bechamel. Spread bechamel, followed by ragout/ragu over the sheets of pasta. Place dollops of bechamel on the ragout, and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with pasta sheets. Repeat spreading of ragout/bechamel/cheese until most of the ingredients are used up. To finish the lasagne, spread remaining sauce and heavily garnish with cheese. Bake at 350 F until bubbly and heated through. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Lasagne may be a bit slidy-rustic looking when you serve it immediately. But it will taste delicious.
Will make enough to feed a small army. Or your friends and family.
The Pasta Procedure: Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Process until flours look green and sandy about 2 minutes. Add in wet ingredients and process until dough starts coming together. Place dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. On low speed, mix the dough until it starts to come together. Turn off mixer and finish kneading with hands. Allow dough to sit for an hour in refrigerator. At this point the dough can sit overnight. When you are ready to roll it out, pull off a small piece and work it with a rolling pin on a well-(tapioca) floured surface. It should roll out quite thin - if you put your hand under it, you can see the outline of your hand if you hold it up to a light source. You can also roll it out in a pasta maker if you prefer. At this point the pasta can be used in any application you like. Ravioli, pasta, tortellini - it is a little more fragile than wheat flour pasta, but it will hold up nicely to filling and cooking. If you are making lasangne, cook for about 2 minutes in boiling salted water and remove from the water with a slotted spoon, a fine mesh strainer, or any handy device you may have. If you are going to let it sit, oil it with a little olive oil and place on plastic wrap or parchment, covered, until you are ready to use it. The Chicken and Mushroom Ragout (no beef, no pork, no milk)
Procedure:
In the bowl of a food processor, chop up carrot, celery, and onion. Once coarse, throw in garlic. Heat 2T butter or olive oil in large heavy-bottomed stock pot. When hot, add carrot, celery, onion, garlic mixture and sprinkle the paprika over it. Allow to cook until translucent and fragrant.
Separately, saute the mushrooms until cooked and slightly browned. Add a bit of water (a tablespoon or two) to deglaze the pan. Put aside until chicken has been cooked (below).
Pushing vegetables to the side, add in ground chicken and a little more oil or butter and allow to brown - it is okay if the bottom browns a bit, but you should scrape it down with a wooden spoon to prevent actual burning. You don't want burned fond (the name for the wonderful caramelized proteins at the bottom of the pan. Thank you maillard reaction).
Once the chicken has browned, add in the mushrooms add in 1/2 of the wine, stir to release the fond from the bottom of the pan, and allow mixture to cook down by half. Add in the second half, cooking down again. Add in chicken stock and tomato and sprig of thyme. Continue to simmer mixture until reduced by about 3/4 - at least an hour. Finish by whisking in 3 T butter. Use right away. Can be refrigerated or frozen, though some separation of fat may occur. The Bechamel The most important thing you must know before starting this recipe is that it is nothing like bechamel made with wheat flour. Rice flour does not gelatinize like wheat flour, it is less fine, doesn't brown as fast, and more slowly absorbs liquids. You'll need more milk and more time to cook this bechamel than you would if you used a straight starch. I chose rice because it is more stable than corn starch (unless it is a cornstarch specifically for industrial applications with little shear), which has a tendency to become wet and runny when subjected to temperature changes (especially freezing). With rice, little lumps are par for the course unless you use an extremely fine rice flour, or, better yet, a rice starch. I added tapioca just for a little more instant gelatinization and stability. You'll end up letting this bechamel cook for a long time to break down the rice granules. So if you want to do yourself a favor, substitute your favorite starch in place of the rice flour. It cooks in a fraction of the time. Procedure: Melt Butter. Whisk in starch/flour. Whisk continuously for a few minutes. If you've made wheat-based bechamel before, this stage will look nothing like the same stage with wheat. It will not look like sand, as the rice granules don't absorb the liquid very quickly. Add cold milk to the starch/butter mixture, whisking all the while. At this point I switch to a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant rubber spatula. As the sauce simmers, whisk. If you are using rice flour, to get the texture just right, you'll need to simmer it gently for about 30 minutes (!!!!!!!!!), whisking every couple minutes and keeping the heat low enough so that the bottom doesn't burn. If you are using starch, it should be ready in 3-5 minutes. When it is the viscosity and texture you desire, turn off the heat. If you made the rice and it has lumps, whisk it more. Or use a hand blender for a few minutes. Whisk in cheese and balance out salt & pepper. The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar,
Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen
Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto
Kasper as the challenge.
I was reading your entry while drooling over that gorgeous lasagne, and I couldn't help cracking up since my lasagne contains layer upon layer of caramelized onions! LOL! That said, you did an amazing job with this lasagne!! Looks awesome!
Posted by: Lisa | March 27, 2009 at 06:14 AM
For this, you will be nominated into the Gluten Free Hall Of Fame!
Posted by: H.Peter | March 27, 2009 at 09:41 AM
Very impressive. Like Lisa I have to laugh about the onions--while my lasagne did not include so many I would puts them in everything, caramelized, if I could.
Posted by: Laura | March 27, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Your lasagna looks lovely. So wonderful to make it GF - good for you. The vegan version was rich and delicious, even without eggs and cheese (FYI) :)
Posted by: Shellyfish | March 27, 2009 at 02:37 PM
Your lasagna looks wonderful!
Posted by: Erin | March 27, 2009 at 05:32 PM
Mmm, your lasagne looks amazing!! Beautiful job adding the spinach to the pasta =D.
Posted by: Lauren | March 27, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Wow! I will have to try your version one day. I love the chicken thigh and mushroom ragout!
Posted by: raquel | March 28, 2009 at 09:09 AM
Wonderful! A pat on the back for a challenge well done. Yumm.. caramelized onions.. yes please!
Posted by: asti | March 29, 2009 at 06:55 AM
Your lasagna looks PERFECT! Makes me wish I'd participated this month. :(
Great job! (and until recently, I too hated onions...YUCK!) :)
Posted by: Jeanine | March 29, 2009 at 05:16 PM
The lasagna looks delicious. I enjoyed making the pasta. First time for me. Meat eater that I am, your chicken version looks good.
Posted by: Margaret | March 29, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Thanks H Peter! The pasta recipe is one of my favorites, I think (pats self on back). It just worked really well, was so tasty, and could be used in so many different ways. It also kept well in the refrigerator uncooked.
Posted by: Cake and Commerce | March 30, 2009 at 02:47 PM
Hey hey! I love the caramelized onions. It is the raw ones that kill me.
Thanks everyone!
Posted by: Cake and Commerce | March 30, 2009 at 02:47 PM
I can't thank you enough for posting this! I'm making lasagne for my guests on Monday night for my birthday, and I'd been planning to use these sheets of rice noodle that I've bought from an Asian grocery store, but now I'm going to try this. I'm especially excited about future ravioli possibilities using this pasta recipe. I'm one of those sad few who is intolerant of corn as well as gluten, and I find it so frustrating that so many gluten-free recipes use corn instead, which means I still can't eat them. I'm so excited to have found this!
Posted by: riley | May 08, 2009 at 09:12 PM
Riley --
Thanks so much! All of my recipes are corn free - well, except for recipes FOR sweet corn. I have issues with corn myself, so I try and avoid it when I develop recipes. If you have any recipes you'd like to see developed, let me know.
Posted by: Cake and Commerce | May 08, 2009 at 11:13 PM