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Rollin’ with My Bakers!
Date: Mar. 28th 2009
Category: Gnocchi, Pasta, Pizza and Rice, Daring Bakers
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Unless you happen to live in Emilia-Romagna, in whose towns and cities there are still a few shops selling pasta made by hand, you can make far better fresh pasta, either by the rolling-pin method or the machine method, than you can buy or eat anywhere.
– Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Truer words were never written than those above. Homemade pasta is the epitome of creating beautiful food at home. And contrary to what many people thing, making pasta at home is not difficult, even if you make it entirely by hand and roll it yourself!
The Daring Bakers had the opportunity to do this thanks to our March hostesses.
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.
These lovely ladies threw down the pasta gauntlet by challenging us to make lasagne typical of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; a region renowned for its citizens’ abilities to make the most beautiful homemade pasta..
To see the challenge recipe, you can visit The Daring Kitchen and view the recipe archive, or you can visit Mary, Melinda and Enza.
The recipe, the main challenge being hand-rolling the pasta, was for a spinach dough, a country-style ragu and a bechamel.
So I should tell you right off the bat that I had to make amendments to each section of the recipe. Normally, I love all of these elements but Famiglia Cream Puff has been struggling with various forms of flu and the thought of a heavy, albeit delicious, lasagne didn’t sit very well with the stomach.
Instead, I made a basic pasta dough, a plain tomato sauce and a bechamel that I used for a mini-lasagne. I used the rest of the dough to make a larger and plainer lasagne that was enjoyed throughout the week for work lunches.
I began by creating my dough. Using the method Mama Cream Puff taught me, I created a ring of flour and dropped in my eggs. Using a fork, I slowly incorporated the flour into the egg until I had a thick mixture that I gathered into a ball. I kneaded the dough for about 10 minutes (by hand) until it was nice and smooth. I then let it rest for about an hour.
I used the longest rolling pin that I had to begin rolling out my dough. It was tough work, especially because at a certain point I had to divide the dough in half. Our counters are very small and there was no way that I could roll the dough out thinly without cutting it into two pieces.
At a certain point, I will admit, I gave up. It was hard work rolling that dough and I probably could have gone a bit thinner, but I was satisfied so I cut my dough into segments, floured them and placed them on a baking sheet to dry out a bit.
I then went ahead and made a half portion of the bechamel. Because I couldn’t stomach the idea of eating bechamel since I was under the weather, I made a mini lasagne with the bechamel. I began with a layer of bechamel, followed by a layer of cooked lasagne noodles topped with sauce and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
I repeated these steps several times and ended with a slathering of bechamel on top.
The end result looked lovely. While I didn’t try it, my family ate it right up, which is, of course, the best compliment a cook can get.
I went ahead and used the rest of my dough to make a simple lasagna of noodles, sauce and grated Parmigiano, which was also delicious.
My mother’s lasagne is the standard by which I judge all others. While this lasagne was good, it’s certainly not Mama Cream Puff’s, although I did take many liberties with the recipe.
I do want to thank Mary, Melinda and Enza for challenging us to step out of our comfort zones and get rolling!
Ciao!
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03/29/09 at 7:30 am
You deserve a medal for working through the flu! Your photo of the family lasagne was one of the few we found on the web when we were searching for guidance on this challenge. Thank you.
03/29/09 at 7:47 am
I don’t know how you got through it while being under the weather. Rolling dough takes all the energy outta ya. The finished pics of your lasagne looks delicious — and yes, the greatest compliment is that it ’s enjoyed and gobbled up by others!
03/29/09 at 7:49 am
Mmm, your lasagne looks amazing =D! Especially since you made it through the flu!
03/29/09 at 7:59 am
ooooooh yum!
This looks like the stuff I’m interested in cooking. If you split savoury and sweet let me know and I’ll think of dusting off my apron
03/29/09 at 8:51 am
Looks yumm.both the versions.
03/29/09 at 9:03 am
delicios pasta !
03/29/09 at 9:34 am
I loved this challenge so much! Very well done here! Your lasagne look delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
03/29/09 at 9:57 am
Wow, your pictures look fabulous, but, your lasagna is looks even better! Kudos for baking while you were sick. I am impressed.
03/29/09 at 10:11 am
Mmm.. I love your big, fat, noodles.
Congrats on rolling them yourself! Lasagne is one of those highly personal dishes - like chilli - that we all have a favourite way of making. Maybe you will post Mama Cream Puff’s one day.
Hope you are feeling better.
03/29/09 at 10:31 am
Just goes to show you: in sickness and in health, Daring Bakers rule! Individual lasagnas - that’s great.
Yes, I still have your mom’s lasagna on my list.
03/29/09 at 11:30 am
SPECTACULAR lasagna!! Can’t beat homemade pasta dishes.
I’m praying that you and your family feel 100% better soon!!
03/29/09 at 11:34 am
Oh! Nice job! I think a lot of people had trouble taking stellar photographs of the lasagna this month, and I think making a mini-version was a GREAT aesthetic choice. I’ve never made my own pasta before, but I just bought some handmade pasta at the farmers market yesterday and had it for dinner. It was great! I’m going to have to try it myself.
Thanks for the post!
03/29/09 at 11:51 am
Darn it, is it April 1st yet? }:P
03/29/09 at 12:27 pm
I couldn’t have looked at a plum tomato much less made bechamel if I were sick. What a trooper!
03/29/09 at 2:21 pm
Looks fantastic and truly scrumptious. I learned at my grandmother’s knee to make homemade noodles so I know how to appreciate them all the more. I can’t wait till I can join in next month on the challenge.
03/29/09 at 6:45 pm
Ivonne, hope you are feeling much better!!! I would chow down on your “made while sick”lasagne anytime, I can only imagine what you do when in tip top shape!!!
Hugs
03/29/09 at 7:42 pm
I love how your lasagna looks…rich & inviting! Hope you folk are feeling better!
03/29/09 at 10:56 pm
My mom used to make home-made pasta and roll it out with a rolling pin when I was a little girl. Can you believe, she just told me this like a week ago! And all this time, I did not make home-made pasta because I thought, for sure, you need a pasta machine to do it. Now, I am going to try making Mama Cream Puff’s pasta!
03/30/09 at 12:56 am
Absolutely gorgeous lasagne, what a lovely challenge this was
03/30/09 at 12:56 am
I forgot to say I hope you’re feeling better now!
03/30/09 at 8:11 am
Good job!! I can’t imagine cooking through the flu! You’re a champ!!!!
03/30/09 at 9:52 am
I hope you’re all feeling better, Ivonne! Your lasagne looks wonderful, but I knew it would!
03/30/09 at 12:18 pm
everything the mom makes taste better, maybe we taste the tender love in the recipe as well….
I bet yours came as perfect .
04/1/09 at 4:35 am
I used to have the same standards when it came to apple pie, which was always compared to my grandmother’s version.
Hope everyone is feeling better soon!
04/1/09 at 5:31 am
Pretty darn super I have to say!! I particularly love the mini lasagne! This challenge was really fun too!
04/1/09 at 8:14 am
Beautiful work and doubly great because of putting it all together while with flu! But this looks delicious and does make me want to make and eat lasagne now!
Now I need to check out Mamma Cream Puff’s Lasagne!
04/1/09 at 6:52 pm
Nothing beats your mom’s lasagna.
04/2/09 at 10:32 pm
Simply beautiful! You did a great job on your lasagne.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
04/3/09 at 11:06 pm
sono io che non so come ringraziarti (in ritardo) della grande opportunità che ci hai dato.
comunque tutte e due williams-and-sonoma addicted
04/5/09 at 7:37 pm
As always, gorgeous results! Kudos to you for making this while not feeling well…you did an awesome job!