by Michelle Biancardi

With a name like Biancardi, I’m asked about my family’s culinary traditions quite often. In the past I’ve been sheepishly limited to admitting very little Italian-cooking knowledge, but lately I’ve been stepping into the kitchen to change that, guided by the cookbook of my Great-Grandma Biancardi, the 1950’s “Talisman Italian Cookbook” by Ada Boni.

I began cooking Boni’s “Lasagna Old Style” this past summer and have since been introducing various tweaks and twists to incorporate my personal flavor preferences. My version, which I will call Lasagna Biancardi, takes on a Southern Italian flavor profile – more heavily reliant on tomatoes and ricotta than its Northern, béchamel-based counterpart.

Our lasagna will be comprised of five main components:

1. Sauce
2. Meat
3. Ricotta
4. Oven-ready lasagna noodles
5. Mozzarella slices

You’ll find the recipe for how to make or prepare each of these components and how to assemble them detailed in the following pages.

Though a time investment, lasagna is the perfect recipe to get your friends or family into the kitchen. Not only will this recipe produce enough for 10 – 12 generous servings, but it also makes for a great Sunday meal prep. You can split the dish with a friend, and you’ll both have lasagna for days. Enjoy!

Lasagna Biancardi
Preparation Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yields 10 – 12 generous servings

 

Component #1: Sauce
This element needs to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, so start here! 

Equipment
High-rimmed sauce pan

Ingredients
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 large sweet onion, minced (Note: you’ll be using the other half for the meat component, so mince the whole thing while you’re at it!)
– 3 garlic cloves, minced
– 3 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes
– 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
– 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
– 1 tsp oregano
– 2 bay leaves
– 8-10 leaves of basil, chopped into thin strips
– salt and pepper (to taste)

 

1. Warm the olive oil in a high-rimmed sauce pan on low to medium heat. Add the onion and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute, being careful not to let the garlic burn.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, oregano, and bay leaves. Stir the sauce to combine ingredients.
3. Cover the sauce with lid and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour on medium to low heat (the sauce should be just shy of bubbling). Stir and check for flavor periodically, adding salt and pepper to taste.
4. About 5 – 10 minutes before you are ready to assemble your lasagna, add chopped basil to pasta sauce and mix to incorporate the flavors.
5. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce just before assembly.

 

Component #2: Meat
While the sauce is simmering, here’s how you wow the crowd.

Equipment
Medium frying pan, wooden spoon

Ingredients
– 1/2 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 large sweet onion, minced
– 2 garlic cloves, minced
– 1.5 lbs mild Italian sausage
– 1 tbsp oregano

1. As instructed above, warm the olive oil in a frying pan on low to medium heat. Add the onion and simmer for 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for about 1 minute.

1. Add the Italian sausage and oregano. Break up the sausage with a stiff wooden spoon so it’ll be crumbly when cooked. Cook the sausage until the meat is browned through and slightly crispy (Note: You may need to spoon out some of the excess fat while meat is cooking to allow meat to crisp up.).
2. Take the meat off the heat. Cover a large dinner plate with a paper towel, and transfer the sausage onto the plate to drain excess fat.

 

Component #3: Ricotta
 This creamy filling makes our lasagna “Southern-style.”

Equipment
Large mixing bowl, small pot

Ingredients
-15 oz part skim ricotta
-3 tbsp shredded whole-milk mozzarella
-3 tbsp shredded Parmesan-Romano
-1 large egg, beaten
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp ground black pepper
-8-10 basil leaves, chopped into thin strips

1. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients until they are fully incorporated.

1. Transfer the mixture to a small pot on the stove and heat it through, stirring periodically. (Note: This will ease your effort spreading the ricotta during lasagna assembly.)

 

Lasagna Assembly
You’re almost there!  You’ll be making three layers, so divide each of the components accordingly. Reserve a quarter of Meat and Sauce for serving.

Equipment
9×13 casserole dish – or a casserole dish that fits in your microwave, sauce pan (from Component #1)

Ingredients
– 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles (or enough for three layers in your casserole dish)
– 16 oz mozzarella log, cut into very thin slices
-3/4 cup shredded whole-milk mozzarella
-Sauce
-Meat
-Ricotta
Optional garnish: chopped basil and additional shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.
2. Spread a light layer of Sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. This provides moisture to help prevent your oven-ready lasagna noodles from becoming crispy in the oven.
3. Layer oven-ready lasagna, Ricotta, mozzarella, Meat, and then Sauce in three layers. Spoon some of the remaining sauce around the edges of the dish, making sure the oven-ready lasagna is sufficiently covered in sauce.
4. Cover the assembled lasagna with damp paper towels, and cook in microwave on high for 10 minutes (Note: This step softens the ‘oven-ready lasagna.’).
5. Remove the paper towels, and spread the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top layer of the lasagna.
6. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Transfer the lasagna to your oven, and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Combine remaining meat and sauce on stove in sauce pan to create a meat-sauce, and simmer it
8. on low heat.
9. After 25 minutes, remove the aluminum foil from the lasagna and bake it for 5 more minutes, allowing the shredded mozzarella to brown.
10. It’s ready! Remove your lasagna from the oven and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. After plating, spoon meat-sauce over each serving. If you desire, garnish each plate with basil and additional shredded mozzarella.

Deciding what recipe I wanted to do was an easy choice because for me food is about comfort and chicken spaghetti is a meal that reminds me of home. Everything about the dish speaks to the culture from which it came from, or at least the version that I am used to. It is a dish that is not meant for two but to be shared with friends and family. In his book, Southern Cooking, John Egerton emphasizes the point of southern hospitality in southern cooking, “The tradition of hospitality, of serving large quantities of good things to eat to large numbers of hungry people, of sharing food and drink with family and friends and even strangers, proved to be a durable tradition in the South” (Egerton, 1987). This dish is hearty, creamy, a little spicy and a casserole—all key characteristics of Southern cooking.

This recipe would be perfect for a rainy day or a full house. It is the definition of “comfort food”.

Chicken Spaghetti

 

There’s some kind of magic in creating a meal out of basic ingredients. To start off with an array of raw ingredients and end with a dish is enchanting. That was my goal with this dish; to start off with the basics and finish with something decadent. Simple ingredients, simple recipe, delicious dish.

Ingredients

For Falafel:

• 5 cups dry chickpeas
• .5 cups chopped fresh parsley
• .25 cups chopped white onion
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp of flour
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 Tbsp of ground cumin
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For Sauce:

• 1 cup of tahini paste
• 3 cloves of garlic
• .5 of a lemon
• .5 tsp salt
• .2 tsp fresh parsley

For Dish:

• Package of naan bread

Instructions

The falafel is fairly simple. Rinse chickpeas and toss them into a food processor with the parsley, white onion, and garlic. Add the flour, salt, ground cumin and cayenne pepper before mixing. You want it to look like a paste with few chunks.

Once it is fully mixed, put the mixture into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for one hour. While it’s sitting, put all the sauce ingredients into the food processor and blend until it is sauce-like (simple enough!).

Once the falafel mixture has cooled, form into small discs. Grab a pan and the olive oil and cook the falafel on each side on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Now serve! Place the falafel on naan bread and pour the sauce on top. Add tomatoes and red cabbage if you’re feeling adventurous!

CHECK THIS OUT IF YOU WANT A LITTLE CULTURE IN YOUR LIFE

I’ll never forget the Summer of 2016. This was a Summer filled with community, memories and magic. I was working full-time at the Magic Kingdom for a Mission Trip with 43 other people from across the U.S. We all had Wednesday off and decided to travel out of our comfort zones for dinner. We were given the task to prepare international dishes and I had the pleasure of making a Lomo Saltado (Peruvian beef stir fry) with 10 other people. If you’re a person who likes dishes with numerous flavors, texture and color then you’re in for a treat! This dish involves a few things happening at the same time so get your friends to help and get cooking! Let’s take a journey and fuse the latin and chinese cuisine into one

Ingredients:

For the baked fries:

• Canola oil/non-stick cooking spray
• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• Black pepper and sea salt

For the beef:

• 1lb of lean beef sirloin
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1 large yellow bell pepper
• 1 large jalapeno, ribbed and seeded, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tomatoes sliced into wedges
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tsp of apple cider soy sauce
• ½ cup of chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

• Cut the potato lengthwise into 1/3-inch thick slices; cut each slice into 1/3-inch fries. Place on the baking sheet and toss with oil to evenly coat. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place on a single layer onto the greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered on the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp and golden.

Meanwhile

• Season meat with salt, pepper and cumin.

• Heat a large wok over high heat. When hot add the oil and the steak, cook about 2 minutes, until browned on both sides. Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook 2 minutes.

• Add the tomato, soy sauce and vinegar and cook 1 more minute. Season with more salt as needed, remove from heat and finish with cilantro. Serve immediately with french fries and divide evenly between 2 plates.

Fiesta Chicken

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of regular corn
• 1 can of Rotel (spicy if desired)
• 1 package of Philadelphia original 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 packet of dry Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch mix
• 2 small chicken breasts

 

Instructions for cooking:

Take all ingredients and place in a crock pot at low heat (if faster cook time is preferred set crockpot to high heat), stirring occasionally. After 3 hours pull out the chicken breasts and pull apart either using your hands or slicing thinly with a knife. Once chicken has been pulled apart, place back into crockpot and stir in. The dish should be ready within 6 hours if cooked on low heat. If cooked on high heat it will be ready in 4 hours, pull the chicken apart after 2. Once the meal is ready pour into bowl and eat with tortilla chips- Tostitos Scoops work really well!

“Zoodles” and Pesto Sauce

SERVING SIZE: 2 PLATES | TOTAL TIME: 15-20 MIN.

Ingredients

2-3 ZUCCHINIS

2/3 CUP OLIVE OIL

2 CUPS PACKED FRESH BASIL LEAVES

2 CLOVES GARLIC

¼ CUP PARMESAN CHEESE

SALT (TO TASTE)

PEPPER (TO TASTE)

YOU WILL NEED

1 SPIRAL VEGETABLE SLICER/CUTTER

1 BLENDER/FOOD PROCESSOR

1 POT TO BOIL WATER

1 COLANDER

1 MIXING BOWL

SERVING BOWLS

Directions

Start preparing the pesto sauce by adding the garlic and basil leaves into a blender/food processor until they are fully chopped.  Then add the parmesan cheese and olive oil into the processor until smooth.  Set aside the pesto sauce in a mixing bowl.

To prepare the zoodles, use a spiral vegetable slicer/cutter to slice the zucchini to resemble a noodle.  Boil the zoodles for just one minute, drain the water, and set aside.  Heat the pesto sauce for just one minute in the microwave and then mix it in a bowl with the zoodles.  Add salt/pepper to taste.  Enjoy!