Apple Cream Lasagna Food

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

APPLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and rinse noodles, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, white sugar, and almond extract. Spread one can of apple pie filling in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer half of the noodles to cover the filling. Spread the cheese mixture over the noodles. Top with the remaining noodles, and spread the remaining can of apple pie filling over the top of those.
• In a small bowl, stir together the flour, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in margarine until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the pie filling.
• Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool for 15 minutes. While the lasagna cools, stir together the sour cream and 1/3 cup brown sugar. To serve, cut into squares and top with sour cream as a garnish.

APPLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the egg, cheeses, sugar and extract; set aside. Spread one can of pie filling into a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with three lasagna noodles and cheese mixture. Layer with remaining noodles and pie filling. , In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Serve with lasagna.

APPLE CREAM LASAGNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the lasagna noodles as directed on the package. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan, add the butter and let melt over medium heat. Add the apples. Stir to coat in the butter then cover the pan and let the apples cook for 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the nuts, and cinnamon. Mix well then set aside. Combine the cream cheese and remaining brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until fluffy. With the mixer running, add the egg and vanilla and mix until completely incorporated. With a clean mixing bowl and beaters, beat the whipping cream until fluffy and stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside. Combine the melted butter, bread crumbs, and sugar in a small bowl. Evenly spread half of the apple mixture in the bottom of a 11x7 baking dish. Place three of the cooked lasagna noodles over the top. Spread the noodles with half of the cream cheese mixture then top with 3 more noodles. Spread the rest of the apple mixture in the dish. Top with the remaining cream cheese mixture and then sprinkle the buttered breadcrumbs evenly over all. Place the dish in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let stand, covered for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

SPICED APPLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• LASAGNA CUPS: Peel the apples, cut into quarters, remove the cores and slice as thin as you can. Crush or grind the spiced caramel brittle into a fine powder by crushing between wax paper with a saute pan. Grease the sides and bottom of the foil cups. Begin layering lasagna by placing two layers of apple slices in each cup. Sprinkle the ground brittle over the apple layers. Repeat the layering by placing apple slices and sprinkling the brittle on top until the cups are full. Finish each cup with a layer of apple. Place the lasagna cups on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted without resistance. Remove the cups from the oven and sprinkle sugar over each one. Turn on the broiler and place the cups back into the oven to brown slightly under the broiler. Remove cups from oven and allow to cool slightly.
• SPICED CARAMEL BRITTLE: Place the sugar in a saucepan and heat over moderate heat until it melts and turns to a golden brown caramel. Keeping the pan over the heat, add the butter while stirring constantly and vigorously until it has melted into caramel. Caution: the sugar is extremely hot, do not splash it out of the pan. Add the spices and stir well. Remove from heat; pour immediately onto a greased sheet pan. Let the caramel cool and break into pieces.
• CARAMEL SAUCE: Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a thick-bottom saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook the sugar until the caramel stage, it should be golden in color, then remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. In another saucepan bring cream to boil. Add about half of the cream to the caramel. Stir and continue adding the cream slowly. Return caramel to the heat and stir until dissolved in the cream. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir the milk into the cooled caramel to thin it.
• PINE NUT CRUMBLES: Mix all dry ingredients in the bowl and pour in the melted butter. Spread the mixture onto a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes Let cool, hold to top the dessert.
• TO SERVE: Using a paring knife, loosen the edges of each lasagna so that it will come out of the aluminum cup. Place each lasagna mold, sugar side down on the center of a plate. Drizzle each dessert with caramel sauce and sprinkle with pine nut crumbles. Garnish each plate with sauce and crumbles, serve.

APPLE-APRICOT BREAKFAST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook according to package directions. Strain into a colander, and toss with oil. Drape the noodles over and around the side of the colander to cool.
• Process the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, egg yolk and granulated sugar in a food processor until combined and smooth.
• Microwave the preserves, butter and lemon juice in a microwavable medium bowl until the butter melts, about 1 minute. Stir to combine.
• Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with melted butter. Spread 3 tablespoons of the preserves mixture over the bottom. Arrange 4 slightly overlapping noodles to cover the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/3 of the remaining preserves mixture over the noodles. Top with 1/2 the ricotta mixture. Scatter 1/2 the apricots and apple rings over the ricotta, then dust the entire layer with 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Repeat with another layer of 4 noodles, 1/2 the remaining preserves mixture and the remaining ricotta mixture, apricots and apple rings and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Finish with the remaining 4 noodles, and spread with the remaining preserves mixture. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Meanwhile, swirl the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat until browned and toasted in spots.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake until the lasagna is very hot and the layers are set, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for 10 minutes more. Top with the toasted almonds, and dust with confectioners' sugar. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving. The lasagna can also be eaten at room temperature.

EASIEST EVER LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat a large non-stick frying pan until hot. Add about half the mince and fry it over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until browned. Stir it with a wooden spoon and press out any lumps while it is frying. Tip the browned mince into a bowl. Tip the remaining raw mince into the pan and add the garlic and oregano. Fry it as you did with the previous batch, then return all the mince to the pan and mix it together.
• Tip in the mushrooms and roasted veg sauce, and squirt in the ketchup (you can be generous). Season with black pepper and salt if you like. Stir well to mix everything together, turn the heat up under the pan and bring to the boil, then turn it down so it bubbles gently. Cover the pan and cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to mix everything together. As it cooks, the mushrooms will shrink and make the mince more saucy.
• While you're waiting for the meat to cook, break the egg into a large bowl and beat it with a whisk or fork to break up the white and the yolk. Pour the cream into the bowl, then grate about two thirds of the cheese and add to the bowl. Be careful, a grater looks innocent enough, but it's sharp so mind your fingers. Season with a good grinding of black pepper. Beat well to mix. Now turn the oven on to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C.
• Lay the lasagne in a dish and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes. Take an ovenproof dish measuring about 28-30cm x 22-23cm and 7.5cm deep. Spread about a couple of spoonfuls of meat sauce over the bottom, then cover with 3-4 sheets of lasagne (lift them out of the water with tongs) overlapping them slightly to make them fit if you need to. Drizzle over just a little of the cheese sauce - about 2-3 spoonfuls.
• Spoon over half the remaining meat and spread it out, right to the edges of the dish. Cover with 3-4 more sheets of lasagne, then spoon over the remaining meat, spreading it out evenly and almost to the edges. Cover with 3-4 more sheets of lasagne.
• Pour what's left of the cheese sauce over the top. Jiggle the dish so the sauce runs to the edges and squelch the corners of the pasta into the sauce so there's none poking up. Grate the rest of the cheese evenly all over, then grate over about 1⁄2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before decorating the top if you like. Cut into 6 portions and serve with a salad.