Tag: Casserole

Patty Pan Parmesan

Posted in Italian FoodTagged , , , , , , 4 Comments

Patty Pan Parmesan is the signature Italian dish that I promised you last week.

Patty Pan Parmesan Feature

I created it in 2005 when we were living in California, and my husband had an abundance of Patty Pan Squash growing in the garden.  Now we live in Texas, and most of the vegetables we consume are grown by our neighbor, Billy.  When he brought me a basket full of Patty Pans, I was so excited to make this dish again.

Here is a slice of it plated with fresh basil on top.  Yum!!!😋 One of my favorite things to eat.  Its low carb, so I can still eat it.🙂  I started a ketogenic lifestyle in February 2019 so that I could control my blood sugar without medications.  If you are interested in the full story of my ketogenic journey, please read  My Personal Story of Recovery.

Patty Pan Parmesan Plated Feature

INGREDIENTS FOR PATTY PAN SLICES:

  • 8 large patty pans
  • 1/4 cup of my Italian Spice Mix
  • salt and pepper to sprinkle over patty pan slices
  • olive oil to coat the patty pan slices

PREPARING THE PATTY PAN:

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  • Remove the stem and flower ends off the patty pan with a small paring knife
  • Cut the patty pans into circular slices that are 1 inch thick
  • Place the slices on a lined baking sheet
  • Sprinkle each slice with salt, pepper and my Italian Spice Mix
  • Drizzle with olive oil
  • Rub each slice to evenly coat it with the spice mix and olive oil
  • Flip and repeat seasoning the other side with salt, pepper, Italian spice and olive oil
  • Place in a 400 F oven to roast for 10 minutes.  Flip the patty pan slices at the 5 minute mark, which is half way through the roasting process.

INGREDIENTS FOR ASSEMBLING THE CASSEROLE:

Patty Pan Parm Assembly Set Up

  • 24 ounces of marinara sauce (you can buy it or make it.  Click on Marinara Sauce – An Italian Essential, for my recipe.)
  • 1 large bunch of basil leaves
  • 10 ounces of fresh mozzarella cut into thin slices
  • 24 ounces of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

ASSEMBLY: the casserole is assembled in 2 layers

  • Coat the bottom of a 9 X 11 glass baking dish with a thin layer of marinara sauce.  This will prevent the bottom from burning.
  • Place a single layer of roasted patty pan slices
  • Top each patty pan slice with a piece of mozzarella and a basil leaf
  • Sprinkle on a layer of grated Parmesan cheese
  • Repeat, starting with another layer of patty pan slices

Bake uncovered in a 350 F oven until the casserole starts bubbling.  At this point, turn to a low broil setting to brown the top layer of cheese.  My oven has a high and low broil setting.  If your oven has only one broil setting go ahead and use it.  Whichever setting you use, turn the oven light on and keep a close eye on the casserole.  We want the top layer to broil without burning.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.  I like to make this casserole a day in advance because it tastes even better the next day.  It also sets nicely overnight in the frig, and can then easily be cut into pretty slices that hold together well.  Kind of like a gluten free, vegetarian lasagna.

Patty Pan Parmesan Plated Feature

This is a great vegetarian main dish.  Pair it with a fresh green salad to make a complete meal.  It can also be served with a protein and a green vegetable, to make a fancy plated entre.

Patty Pan Parmesan Plated Meal

Since I am a pescatarian, I plated a piece of the Patty Pan Parmesan with grilled shrimp and roasted asparagus.  I love this presentation.  We do eat with our eyes first.  Enjoy 😍

I can’t believe how fast this year is going.  Summer is almost over.  Next week is labor day weekend already!  In honor of labor day cook outs, I will be posting a recipe my husband made on the grill.

Until then Ciao 🖐 🙂

Red Lentil Pasta -Napoli Style

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Red Lentil Pasta-Napoli Style, is the second of two recipes I created to show how marinara sauce can be used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes.   The first one was Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan, which I posted last Saturday.  Casseroles like this are great because they can be made in advance, and actually taste better the next day.

Red Lentil Pasta Feature

To make things easy, you can buy marinara sauce at your local supermarket.  If you would like to make it, click on Marinara Sauce – An Italian Essential for my recipe.

Marinara Sauce Feature

INGREDIENTS:

Red Lentil Pasta Ingredients

  • 10 oz box of red lentil pasta (believe it or not, I bought this at Walmart.  It only has one ingredient listed on the box–red lentil flour.  That’s it, and water Of course.)
  • 1 lb of ground pork ( we are blessed to have this special Berkshire ground pork provided to us by our neighbors, Rose and James, at Peach Creek Farm.)
  • 2 lbs of ground beef ( this Austin bred & fed ground beef is from K & C Cattle Co.  which is owned by Patrick, an Army veteran of the 1st Ranger Battalion.)
  • 20 ounces of grated Parmesan (I usually grate my  own, but I found this grated Parmigiano-Reggiano imported from Italy at Costco.  It is the real thing with absolutely no additives.)
  • 24 ounces of marinara sauce
  • 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

COOK:

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  • Coat a heavy duty stainless steel pan with olive oil
  • Add the ground meat, break it up into bite sized pieces.
  • Saute until brown

Red Lentil Pasta Cook 4

  • Add the marinara sauce
  • Cook for about 10 minutes until the marinara sauce is bubbling
  • Add the pasta
  • Stir it in
  • Cook for 4 minutes.  At this point it will be par cooked.  It will finish cooking when we bake the casserole in the oven.
  • Adjust salt and pepper to taste

ASSEMBLY: the casserole is assembled in 4 layers using a 9 X 11 baking dish.

Layer 1 –  spread half the pasta mixture

Layer 2 – sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese

Layer 3 – spread the last half of the pasta mixture

Layer 4 – sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese

I like to make the top layer of cheese thicker so that I can get a really cheesy, golden crust.  Its the best part.

Cover with foil.  Bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil, and bake for another 15 minutes at 400 F to get the golden brown and delicious crust. 😋

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.  This a great meal to pack for lunch, or make ahead for a quick supper after work.  It is filling, nutritious, and yummy.

On days when my husband is working on the ranch, he gets very hungry and will end up eating a big piece as soon as he comes indoors.  Here is a piece he plated for himself.

Red Lentil Pasta Plated

I like the way it cuts into a sturdy slice.  It almost looks like lasagna.

Please try this and let me know what you think in the comments section.

Next Saturday, I will be posting an unusual and easy Indian vegetable recipe.  Be on the lookout for it.

Ciao for now 🖐

Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan

Posted in Italian FoodTagged , , , , , , 4 Comments

My first visit to Italy was in 2005.  Our first stop was Bologna, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region.  It is the home of University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world.  As I walked around the city during lunch time, I noticed a long line of university students waiting their turn to go inside a tiny bistro.  I decided to come back when the lunch rush was over and eat there.  This is when I had the most incredible roasted eggplant dish.

Gluten Free Eggplant Parm Feature

It has been one of my favorites ever since.  I recreated it when I got back home, and I make it a lot.  Fortunately for me, it is gluten free and keto friendly.  As I stated in a previous post, I started a ketogenic lifestyle on 25 February 2019 to control my blood sugar without any medications.  Since I have decided to lead a ketogenic lifestyle forever, I am glad that this favorite dish of mine can still be part of my life.

INGREDIENTS FOR EGGPLANT SLICES:

  • 4 small eggplants (these came from my neighbor’s garden.)
  • 1/4 cup of my Italian Spice Mix
  • enough kosher salt to lightly sprinkle over eggplant slices
  • olive oil to sauté the eggplant

PREPARING THE EGGPLANT:

  • Using a serrated knife, cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch discs
  • Lightly sprinkle them with kosher salt on both sides
  • Place in a glass container and cover with plastic wrap
  • Refrigerate overnight to allow excess water to be extracted from the eggplant.  This process makes the eggplant absorb less oil.
  • Remove the eggplant slices from the glass container and place onto paper towel sheets to dry off excess liquid.  Discard the liquid at the bottom of the glass container.
  • Place the salted and dried eggplant slices , in a single layer, into a clean glass baking dish

Kachri Sliced

  • drizzle on some olive oil and sprinkle with my Italian Spice Mix.  Flip the slices over and repeat on the other side.
  • Add another layer of eggplant slices and coat with oil and spice mix.  Repeat until all the eggplant slices are used up.

Eggplant Slices Coated with Italian Spice Mix

  • Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.

COOKING THE EGGPLANT:

  • Coat a large non-stick skillet with olive oil
  • Turn the flame to medium heat and get the oil hot, but not smoking
  • Once the oil is hot add a layer of spiced eggplant slices.  Do not crowd the pan. Cook the slices till they are golden brown on the first side. Flip and repeat until the slices are brown and crispy on both sides.
  • The cooking time is longer than you think.  It is 10 minutes per side.  Once the eggplant is brown on both sides, test it with a fork. Once it is fork tender remove it to a glass baking dish.
  • Continue the process until all the eggplant slices are cooked.

When I am cooking a lot of eggplant, I use two pans on the stove.  This saves time.

INGREDIENTS FOR ASSEMBLING THE CASSEROLE:

Gluten Free Eggplant Parm Assembly Set Up

  • Cooked eggplant slices
  • 24 ounces of marinara sauce (you can buy it or make it.  Click on Marinara Sauce – An Italian Essential, for my recipe.)
  • 10 ounces of fresh mozzarella cut into thin slices
  • 1 large bunch of basil leaves, removed from their stems
  • 24 ounces of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

By the way, those beautiful dishes in the photo above are by Ceramiche d’Arte Carmela in Ravello, Italy.  One of my favorite places.

ASSEMBLY: the casserole is assembled in two layers

  • Coat the bottom of a 9 X 11 glass baking dish with a thin layer of marinara sauce.  This will prevent the bottom from burning.
  • Next place a single layer of eggplant slices
  • Place a piece of mozzarella on each eggplant slice
  • Top each slice of mozzarella with a basil leaf
  • Spread a layer of marinara sauce
  • Sprinkle on a layer of grated Parmesan cheese
  • Repeat, starting with another layer of eggplant slices

Cover with foil and bake in a 350 F oven until the casserole starts bubbling.  Should take about 20 to 30 minutes.  Take the casserole out of the oven.  Raise the oven temperature to 400 F.  Remove the foil and top with a final layer of Parmesan cheese.  Place back in the oven, on the top rack, and bake until the top layer of cheese turns brown.  Should take about 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on it so the cheese does not burn.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Gluten Free Eggplant Parm Feature

The hardest part is waiting to let it rest.  It smells so good and looks so tempting that it is hard to wait.  I like making this for pot luck suppers, because I can make it in advance, and it tastes even better the next day.

I have also made this dish with other vegetables like spaghetti squash and patty pan squash.  I will post those versions next time I make them.

Here is a photo of my  “Spaghetti Squash Faux Lasagna” version, served for dinner with a large salad.  Easy breezy, gluten free, vegetarian, keto friendly and oh so delicious!!!

Spaghetti Squash Faux Lasagna with Salad

Hope you enjoy this.  Please let me know in the comment section.