Every once in a while I manage to bang together something for supper or lunch that I think would be perfect for the little cafe I dream about running. My cafe would be small. Ten tables at the most. The blackboard menu would rotate weekly and there would be no more than 4 perfect choices per course. And it would be accompanied by a small, but lovingly planned wine list.
This is one of those recipes that I would serve in my cafe....
I wanted a nice light, springtime supper for Cakes and me, and I`d been to the Italian Centre Shop so had nice lasagna noodles, beautiful tomatoes and 7 amazing cheeses.
This dish really is heaven, the textures are all there: crispy bacon, creamy ricotta, noodle-y noodles and fresh, juicy tomato... the flavours combine beautifully as well - no competition here: salty bacon, milky ricotta, sharp asiago, noodle-y noodles and fresh juicy, acid-sweet tomato....funny how my descriptions for noodles and tomato are so similar as between texture and taste...
This is fresh, light and the basic, refreshing flavours of the ingredients really shine through...it's definitely a keeper.
Ingredients:
- one each medium fresh gorgeous, organic yellow, red and orange tomatoes, cubed.
- smallest splash of good balsamic
- one crushed and minced clove of garlic
- scant tablespoon best quality pesto
- 75 grams fresh fresh fresh sweet ricotta
- 3 best quality approx. 4" by 5" lasagna sheets (not "oven-ready", not the kind with frilly edges)
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 50 grams asiago cheese, in slivers
Boil lasagna sheets in salted water until al dente. Leave in hot water, but remove from heat.
Saute garlic in small amount of olive oil, add tomatoes and saute until just heated through. leave in pan to keep warm. I also removed the cooked tomatoes to one side of the pan and reduced the juice they gave off into a coulis consistency. Add a small splash of balsamic to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.
Fry prosciutto at med-high heat until golden and crispy. Remove it from heat, break each slice into 2 or 3 pieces, and leave to cool in a rumpled fashion, maybe draped over some tablespoons, or similar so as the slices dry and harden they take on an interesting curvy shape.
Combine ricotta and pesto with a bit of cracked pepper and salt. Warm gently in a pot or, *gasp*, in the microwave for a minute to two.
Drain pasta and cut each sheet into four square quarters.
Stack pasta squares on plate with alternating fillings: i.e. pasta, tomatoes, pasta, ricotta, pasta prosciutto, pasta tomatoes...etc. until all the filling and pasta is used up. Your stacks will have less chance of falling over if you keep the filling portions small and in the centre of the noodle square. Press down gently onto noodle surface after each filling has been added and topped with noodle, as this will also help to stabilize the stack.
Top with slivers of asiago and a twist of ground pepper.
Oh, how heavenly! I could easily make that for Matt (and get him to eat his veggies, natch), while making a seperate dish for Alex and me...with veggie bacon or ham replacing the proscuitto. I'm loving it.
My dream is to run a B&B. I love breakfast foods, and making them. My little family, however? Not morning-oriented. Instead of the traditional Victorian home, I will have a 1950's-1960's home. Tv trays in every room! And I would provide the most scrumptious breakfast dishes each morning...ah, the dream...
Posted by: Stephanie | May 12, 2005 at 11:20 AM
I think this general idea would be pretty good with a goats cheese and spinach filling as well.
You do need the salty taste to balance out the tomatoes and soft cheese. I'm not sure how salty the veggie bacon or ham is. If you wanted to replace the prosciutto, you might try some sundried black olives crumbled on top?
I hear what you're saying about the B&B. My husband and I have been talking about doing it for quite a while now and even went so far as to draft an offer on a beautiful old 6 bedroom victorian home (in need of a LOT of love) here a couple of months ago. We were crushed when sombody scooped it out from under us, but they were clearly willing to pay more than we could afford. Sigh. I just really dig the whole hospitality thing. My raison d'etre, if I had one, would definitely be all about making things look, smell and taste beautiful for other people.
If you love the breakfast foods, seriously try the cheese grits with poached egg and sauted cherry tomatoes. It is absolutely heavenly!!! I'm all drooly just thinking about it.
Posted by: Lyn | May 12, 2005 at 01:51 PM