Hey, how you doin’?! I spent the weekend organizing like crazy and trying to stay busy to keep up with work at home! .. . Annn -dd between odd food scrambles in the morning and shredded veggies in the evening, I am certain you are finding excuses to eat them right up. Haha!

Beginning with, ITALIAN CUISINE

Italians and cooking go together like – well, who needs a comparison? No matter how bare your cupboards are, I bet you can scrape together the ingredients for one of these refreshing Italian dishes. For a big hearty meal, Lasagna with garlic bread is an incredible comfort food in any weather. Whereas pasta packed with flavor cannot get more healthy -Incredible just got better.

Perfect for a Weekend meal this delicious Bread lasagna & Pasta Recipe will surely become a family favourite.

Let’ssss gooooo!

Baked Bread Lasagna

[PRONUNCIATION: luh-ZAHN-yuh]

Traditionally, Lasagne, or the singular lasagna, is made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù and other vegetables, cheese, and seasonings and spices such as garlic, oregano and basil. But here, I have used certain alternatives and trust me it was not less tastier than real ones! SO easy to make and tastes like a million bucks.

And the best part is –
It can be made in advance and refrigerated. I just LOVE this lasagna recipe!!!
You can assemble the lasagna the night before and refrigerate it until ready to bake. Perfect for when you need a quick recipe when you have a whole bunch of guest for dinner.

Let’s get back to the recipe!
Servings: 4

Ingredients

For white sauce:
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp of oregano and chilli flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt as per taste

For veggie filling:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves Garlic
2 Onion , finely chopped
1 capsicum, finely chopped
2 carrot, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet corn
1 table spoon pizza and pasta sauce
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
salt, to taste

8 – 10 bread slices.
3 cheese cubes.
oregano and chilli flakes for garnishing!

How to make Baked Bread Lasagna Recipe

To begin making the Lasagna Recipe, first we will make the Béchamel sauce aka white sauce.

1. Into a preheated pan add butter, and add 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida).
2. Using a wired whisk stir the flour quickly as soon as you add it. Keep on stirring so that no lumps are formed. Sauté the flour till you get a pale golden color.
3. Pour the milk with one hand and stir the sauce mixture with the other.
4. On a low flame, simmer the sauce till it thickens, add the seasonings.
5. Switch off the flame, pour it in a bowl and keep aside.

For vegetable filling,
1. Heat pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add chopped garlic and onions and saute until it turns golden.
2. Add tomatoes and all other veggies along with corns. Saute the ingredients in medium flame to cook until crunchy.
3. Add ketchup, pizza pasta sauce and salt.
4. Give it a good mix and keep aside.
5. Cut all the edges of bread and with the help of a rolling pin roll the breads into a thin sheets. (make sure to use fresh breads)

To assemble the Lasagna

• Take a 7 by 7 inch baking pan and grease with olive oil. Then, spoon the white sauce. Layer it evenly and then place 4 bread sheet over the sauce.

• Spoon a layer of veggie filling over the sheet and then spoon another layer of white sauce. Layer it with another bread sheets. Also, don’t forget to grate cheese in between the layers.

• Proceed layering in similar way for upto 2 to 3 layers. Finally top the lasagna with 2 grated cheese cubes.

• Place the Lasagna Pan in a oven at 200 C and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Once done you will see how the cheese melts so beautifully. It is a cheese lovers delight and everyone who eats this Lasagna Recipe will surely drive you crazy. Remove the Lasagna from the oven.

Sprinkle some oregano, chilli flakes and serve hot. 

Additional notes:

You can also prepare the red sauce, white sauce and veggie filling differently and then assemble it like wise.

Pasta in Arrabbiata sauce

There are many types of pasta sauces, from the light and simple marinara sauce to the bold and rich Alfredo sauce. And Arrabiata sauce is one – fairly simple recipe and all you need is a set of basic ingredients.

Marinara Sauce?

A traditional tomato-based pasta sauce is known as marinara sauce. Generally, crushed or diced tomatoes are combined with chopped garlic, onions, and peppers and simmered until they reach a saucy consistency.

Arrabbiata Sauce: Using traditional marinara sauce, add crushed red pepper flakes or chopped chili peppers to make Arrabbiata, a spicy version of the marinara sauce.      

You can definitely use any any kind of noodle pasta that you just want to. (spaghetti, penne macaroni.. and so on)
Here, I have used Fettuccine [PRONUNCIATION: fay-tuh-CHEE-nee] (one kind of pasta) which is long, flat and solid.

Ingredients :

For sauce,
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon dried herbs
Salt, to taste
3 whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

For fettuccine,
1 lb. fettuccine
1/2 cup milk/ heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of crushed black pepper
salt, to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese

cheese and basil leaves to garnish.

DIRECTIONS FOR SAUCE

1. Steam tomatoes: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the tomatoes with water and let it simmer for 5- 10 minutes. Peel off the skin and finely chop into small pieces or roughly grind the tomatoes.

2. Sauté the onions and garlic: Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the herbs: Add salt, chilli flakes and oregano to the pan with the onion. If you’re adding basil, wait to add it until the end of cooking.

4. Add tomatoes to the pan: Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pan with the onions. Smash the tomatoes with your spatula as you add them.

5. Simmer for about 20 minutes: Bring the sauce to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer and add 1 tablespoon ketchup. Continue simmering until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine: 

Cook fettuccine or your favorite type of pasta in boiling water uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Drain it and toss in olive oil to avoid sticking.

In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pour the  arrabiata sauce. Let it simmer for some minutes and then pour milk/heavy cream. Cook for another 5 minutes so that the sauce gets thicker. You will end up with an amazingly flavorful creamy sauce. Nothing could go wrong with it.

Toss the fettuccine with the sauce and cook them together for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the salt, black pepper and grated cheese gradually. You might not need to use all of it.

Garnish it with herbs like basil leaves or cheese.

Additional Notes:

Chopped carrots & Chopped bell peppers are another alternative. Since carrots will take more time to cook, you can throw them in earlier with the tomatoes and then add on the bell peppers for to cook.

Adding more cream to the sauce also makes it thicker but taste the sauce as you go. Too much of it can give it a very heavy flavor.

So, which one of these Italian recipes are you going to try first and which one are you saving for a special occasion?