#italian Archives - Page 2 of 2

Lasagne

In my opinion, one of the best meals to come out of Italy is lasagne. There’s nothing quite like a hearty, beefy, cheesy pasta dish to fill the tummy. Its multi-layers allow for forkfulls of rich, tomatoey mince to meld with thick, unctious cheese sauce, with the occasional surprise of a nice piece of crispy toasted melted cheese. However, for all that lasagnes are traditionally very onion, garlic and cheese based, it’s actually very easy to make a low FODMAP lasagne which is just as tasty as a normal version.

Lasagnes are incredibly easy to make and the beauty of making your own instead of buying one is that you can alter the ingredients as you see fit, ensuring you have a pasta dish that suits your own taste.

I like my low FODMAP lasagne to have plenty of herbs in it and for the sauces to be thick enough for it to cut into slices without it completely falling apart, but other people prefer theirs to be much more liquid so that they can use good crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Either way, it’s a rewarding meal that will feed lots of people. It will also reap plenty of leftovers which will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and it’ll freeze beautifully too, leaving your freezer stocked with low FODMAP ready meals of the best (and tastiest) quality.

Ingredients:

500g beef mince

1 tsp asafoetida powder

2 tbsps olive oil

6-8 gluten-free lasagne sheets

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

100g oyster mushrooms (chopped)

50g pitted black olives (chopped)

360g of tinned chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

100ml of water

Dairy-free cheese sauce mix (or normal, if tolerated)

1/2 a pint of rice milk

160g grated cheddar (or non-dairy version)

Method:

Put the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the mince and asafoetida powder. Fry until the meat is cooked through.

Add in the oregano, salt, olives and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the chopped tomatoes, crumble the stock cube into the pan and stir through. If the mix is very thick then add a bit of water, but if you’re happy with the consistency then leave it as it is.

Cook the mix for a little while longer over a low heat.

In the meantime, prepare the cheese sauce as instructed on the packet.

To build the lasagne:

Put a layer of tomato mince in a square or rectangular casserole dish, followed by a thin layer of cheese sauce and place lasagne sheets on top.

Repeat until all of the ingredients are used up, reserving a bit of cheese sauce for the top.

Scatter grated cheese all over the top of the lasagne and grind black pepper over it.

Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins, or until the lasagne sheets are soft and the grated cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

Serve with crusty bread, baguettes or salad. Or all of the above, because why not?

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Mushroom Risotto by The Fat Foodie

On Friday night I cooked what could possibly be described as one of the most decadent meals I’ve ever made. The ingredients were simple enough, with the exception of black truffle infused rapeseed oil, but the combination they created when melded together into a mushroom risotto was absolutely delicious.

In all honesty, I’ve never really seen the attraction of risotto. To my mind, rice should either be the accompaniment to a curry or found in the form of a creamy rice pudding, not as a stodgy savoury pile of starch mixed with meat or vegetables. However, after cooking this mushroom risotto I will happily admit that I now stand corrected.

Although there is, by my own admission, a very generous amount of butter and truffle-infused oil in this recipe, it never feels oily or overly fatty on the tongue. Instead, the flavour-infused swollen little grains of arborio rice just carry the creamy, earthy taste of mushroom in each forkful. So, if you fancy treating yourself to a bowl of something which feels like well-earned self-indulgence, this mushroom risotto is the one for you.

Ingredients:

1 vegetable stock cube (I use Casa de Sante’s low FODMAP Vegetable Stock Powder)

1 litre boiling water

3 to 4 tbsps. truffle oil (or olive oil instead)

Juice of ½ a lemon

250g pack oyster mushrooms (sliced)

300g risotto rice, such as arborio

1 x 175ml glass white wine

60g butter (or non-dairy version)

A handful of chopped parsley leaves (you could use chervil or tarragon if preferred)

3 tbsps. of chopped chives

50g grated dairy-free parmesan (normal parmesan isn’t vegetarian)

Method:

Prepare your lemon, herbs, parmesan and mushrooms as directed in the ingredients list.

Dissolve the stock cube in a jug filled with one litre of boiling water.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms, add salt and pepper to your taste, and continue to cook until the mushrooms have softened.

Add the rice into the pan and cook for 1 min.

Pour in the white wine and lemon juice and stir until it is absorbed into the rice.

Pour in a quarter of the stock.

Simmer, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Add the same amount of stock again and continue to simmer and stir. It will start to become creamy and the grains of rice will start to look plumped up and tender.

Add the remaining stock and once it’s been absorbed the rice should be cooked. Taste the rice and if it’s still too al-dente for your taste, then just add a bit of hot water to it and continue to cook.

Once the rice is cooked, take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter, chives and half of the parmesan.

Divide into your serving bowls and scatter with the remaining parmesan and parsley. Then drizzle with a bit more truffle oil because what’s life without indulgence?

Mushroom Risotto by The Fat Foodie

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The Fat Foodie

Making Low FODMAP Food Good!

Tag: #italian

Low FODMAP Lasagne (serves 4-6)

Mushroom Risotto (Serves 4)