Lasagne Alla Salsiccia E Porri
Contributed by: NAPSA
Expert Tips To Help Cooks Create Perfect Pair Of Pasta And Sauce
(NAPSA) - Chocolate and strawberries, champagne and caviar, fine wine and gourmet cheese-all celebrated food pairings. Yet the most enduring pairing took place in the 17th century and the two foods are still happily united.
The great culinary marriage of pasta and pasta sauce is widely revered throughout Itali and aims to harmonize the shape and surface of pasta with the color, consistency and flavor of the sauce.
James Beard award-winning Chef Roberto Donna and Barilla have joined together to offer tips, guidelines and recipes showcasing this pairing art form.
"It all starts with considering the size and texture of both the pasta and the pasta sauce," said Chef Donna. "For example, angel hair pasta, which has a light, delicate surface texture, doesn't have the strength to hold chunky sauce, so it's best paired with less dense sauces like pesto, tomato and basil, and bechamel (white) sauces."
Jumbo shells (conchiglioni), manicotti (cannelloni) and lasagne are the best choices to stuff with cheese, hold meat-based sauces (ragu) and vegetable fillings, or coat in meat, mushroom or bechamel sauce. The deep ridges and curves of elbow macaroni (called chifferi in Italian) and pipette can hold a double dose of a chunky, meat-based sauce.
Here is a delicious example of perfect pairings, see also:
Pipette di Piselli e Coda di Rospo.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. pork sausage
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 5 medium leeks, thinly sliced using white part (about 4 cups)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half & half or whip`ing cream
- 12 Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne sheets
- 2 cups Barilla Italian Baking Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
Directions:
Sauce:
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage in olive oil, breaking up meat into small pieces and stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes). Add leeks; continue cooking 3 minutes. Add wine and broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by almost half. Reduce heat to low; stir in half & half. Simmer for 5 minutes.
To assemble Lasagne:
Preheat oven to 375 F. In 9x13-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of sausage mixture. Cover with 4 lasagne sheets and another cup of sausage mixture. Top with 1/2 cup Italian Baking Sauce, 1/2 cup cheese, 4 lasagne sheets, and 1 cup sausage mixture. Repeat layers once. Pour remaining 1 cup Italian Baking Sauce over lasagne; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover with foil.
Bake 50 minutes; let stand 10 minutes.
Tip: Substitute veal stock for chicken broth.
Serving Size: Makes 8 Servings
