Life has been a bit of a blur this week - as in everyone's house, there are weeks when you can just never seem to get your head above the s..t. We have been eating, and I have been taking the photos, but getting to the posts.... well that is another issue.
What I have made, I have made quickly and easily in the Thermomix. I know that I am in training to become a consultant, and that I should be saying good things about the Thermomix, but I was absolutely blown away this week with how easy the lasagne was to make. Lasagne is usually a thing that takes several hours, and many dirty pots, before you get it onto the table.
From grating the cheese to sitting down to eat the lasagne I swear it took about an hour and a half!! How good is that? Bechamel sauce - took all of 15 minutes - and was perfect and lump free!
Lasagne
Adapted from EDC Thermomix Cookbook
Serves 6
Before starting the recipe - grate all your cheeses. 8 seconds on speed 8.
Bechamel Sauce
1000g milk
100g flour
100g butter
1 tsp salt
pinch nutmeg
50-100g pecorino cheese
Pre-cooked-lasagne sheets
Place all ingredients in the TM bowl and cook for 12 minutes at 90 degrees on speed 4. Add the pecorino cheese to taste. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds. Remove the sauce and set aside in a jug.
Wash and dry the TM bowl.
Bolognaise Sauce
1kg mince
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
3 rashers bacon
25g oil
50g red wine
2 tbs vegetable stock concentrate
2 tbs tomato paste
400g can chopped tomatoes
Place the onion, carrot, celery, bacon, zucchini, garlic into the TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 5.
Add oil and saute for 3 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.
Add the mince and cook for 10 minutes at varoma temperature on reverse and soft speed. At this stage you may need to move the meat around with the spatula - due to the large amount of meat in the bowl. If there are still lumps of uncooked meat, cook for an additional 5 minutes, breaking up with the spatula.
Add the wine, vegetable stock concentrate, tomato paste and tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes at Varoma temperature on Reverse and soft speed. (remove the MC and place the basket on the top to avoid the sauce spitting out the top).
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish. Place a layer of lasagne sheets in the bottom of the dish. Cover with a layer of bolognaise sauce, top with a layer of bechamel sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of pasta, and bechamel sauce. Top with parmesan cheese.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
This has got to have been one of the easiest lasagnes I have ever made!!! I certainly won't be relegating lasagne to the "too hard" basket any more!
Another quick and easy dinner winner this week was a Tomato and Meatball Risotto. As you know Risottos are oh so simple in the Thermomix - this one was just a tweak of ingredients to make it tomato based - and the meatballs were just sausages squeezed into meatballs and steamed in the varoma - too easy!
Tomato and Meatball Risotto
Adapted form Super Food Ideas Magazine - July edition
Serves 6
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
30g olive oil
400g arborio rice
100g white wine
1100g liquid (made up of chicken stock and canned chopped tomatoes)
1kg Italian style sausages
Squeeze the sausage meat from the casings, forming small meatballs. Place the meatballs in both levels of the varoma receptacle.
Place the onion and garlic in the TM bowl, chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.
Add the oil and saute for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1 (with the MC off).
Insert the butterfly, and add the rice and wine into the TM bowl, saute for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse and speed soft.
Set the scales to zero - add the canned tomatoes, and make up the difference in weight with chicken stock. Place the varoma tray on top of the TM. Cook for 17 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse and speed soft.
After the 17 minutes season the risotto with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place it in the Thermoserver.
Half fill the TM bowl with boiling water and place the varoma trays back on top of the TM bowl. Cook at varoma temperature and speed 4 for 15 minutes. Add the meatballs to the risotto. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on the side.
This week I graduate from Thermomix Training, and then I am out in the big wide world telling all and sundry how wonderful this machine is. Wish me luck! While I know how wonderful the Thermomix is, I don't know how successful I will be in actually turning that enthusiasm into sales. I hope I am not too nervous at my first demo!!!
What I have made, I have made quickly and easily in the Thermomix. I know that I am in training to become a consultant, and that I should be saying good things about the Thermomix, but I was absolutely blown away this week with how easy the lasagne was to make. Lasagne is usually a thing that takes several hours, and many dirty pots, before you get it onto the table.
From grating the cheese to sitting down to eat the lasagne I swear it took about an hour and a half!! How good is that? Bechamel sauce - took all of 15 minutes - and was perfect and lump free!
Lasagne
Adapted from EDC Thermomix Cookbook
Serves 6
Before starting the recipe - grate all your cheeses. 8 seconds on speed 8.
Bechamel Sauce
1000g milk
100g flour
100g butter
1 tsp salt
pinch nutmeg
50-100g pecorino cheese
Pre-cooked-lasagne sheets
Place all ingredients in the TM bowl and cook for 12 minutes at 90 degrees on speed 4. Add the pecorino cheese to taste. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds. Remove the sauce and set aside in a jug.
Wash and dry the TM bowl.
Bolognaise Sauce
1kg mince
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
2 zucchini, roughly chopped
3 rashers bacon
25g oil
50g red wine
2 tbs vegetable stock concentrate
2 tbs tomato paste
400g can chopped tomatoes
Place the onion, carrot, celery, bacon, zucchini, garlic into the TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 5.
Add oil and saute for 3 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.
Add the mince and cook for 10 minutes at varoma temperature on reverse and soft speed. At this stage you may need to move the meat around with the spatula - due to the large amount of meat in the bowl. If there are still lumps of uncooked meat, cook for an additional 5 minutes, breaking up with the spatula.
Add the wine, vegetable stock concentrate, tomato paste and tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes at Varoma temperature on Reverse and soft speed. (remove the MC and place the basket on the top to avoid the sauce spitting out the top).
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish. Place a layer of lasagne sheets in the bottom of the dish. Cover with a layer of bolognaise sauce, top with a layer of bechamel sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of pasta, and bechamel sauce. Top with parmesan cheese.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
This has got to have been one of the easiest lasagnes I have ever made!!! I certainly won't be relegating lasagne to the "too hard" basket any more!
Another quick and easy dinner winner this week was a Tomato and Meatball Risotto. As you know Risottos are oh so simple in the Thermomix - this one was just a tweak of ingredients to make it tomato based - and the meatballs were just sausages squeezed into meatballs and steamed in the varoma - too easy!
Tomato and Meatball Risotto
Adapted form Super Food Ideas Magazine - July edition
Serves 6
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
30g olive oil
400g arborio rice
100g white wine
1100g liquid (made up of chicken stock and canned chopped tomatoes)
1kg Italian style sausages
Squeeze the sausage meat from the casings, forming small meatballs. Place the meatballs in both levels of the varoma receptacle.
Place the onion and garlic in the TM bowl, chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.
Add the oil and saute for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1 (with the MC off).
Insert the butterfly, and add the rice and wine into the TM bowl, saute for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on reverse and speed soft.
Set the scales to zero - add the canned tomatoes, and make up the difference in weight with chicken stock. Place the varoma tray on top of the TM. Cook for 17 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse and speed soft.
After the 17 minutes season the risotto with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place it in the Thermoserver.
Half fill the TM bowl with boiling water and place the varoma trays back on top of the TM bowl. Cook at varoma temperature and speed 4 for 15 minutes. Add the meatballs to the risotto. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on the side.
This week I graduate from Thermomix Training, and then I am out in the big wide world telling all and sundry how wonderful this machine is. Wish me luck! While I know how wonderful the Thermomix is, I don't know how successful I will be in actually turning that enthusiasm into sales. I hope I am not too nervous at my first demo!!!
I love Lasagne but with no thermomix I have to do it the long way :-( Diane
ReplyDeleteYou should investigate - it makes life soooo much easier!!!!
ReplyDeleteyum lasanga on a cold night mmmhhh
ReplyDelete