Sunday 14 March 2010

Baked veal and ham pasta


This recipe is from the "cooking in advance" chapter, and i now have a freezer full of baked veal and ham - 8 large servings i got from it!  And nigella only uses 325g veal and 75g pancetta.  It's far too mean on the veal and ham, so i have suggested cooking 300g pasta rather than nigella's 500g - and that's from someone who loves their white carbs.  If you have a massive freezer, then double the amount of veal and ham.

- Boil 6 cloves garlic for 7 mins, then remove the skin and put in a processor together with 75g pancetta, 2 sticks celery, 1 onion, 1 carrot, and a handful of parsley, processing until finely chopped.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, add the mixture, and cook for a minute or so.
- Add 3 tablespoons marsala, 1/4 teaspoon each of ground mace and paprika.
- Cook on a low heat for 15 mins, stirring regularly.
- Turn up the heat and add 325g finely chopped/minced veal, cook for a min or so, then turn down the heat and cook for a further 15 mins.
- While this is cooking, make a bechamel by melting 95g butter in a large saucepan, add 95g flour and a pinch of mace, and cook for a couple of mins.
- Season, then slowly stir in 1 litre milk.
- When the milk is incorporated, add a bay leaf and cook for about 15 mins until the sauce thickens so its velvety.
- Season, add 1/4 teaspoon mace and some grated nutmeg, take off the heat, and stir in 110g parmesan.
- Cook 300g penne pasta till al dente, then add the sauce and the veal mixture.
- Put in a large shallow casserole dish, season to taste, grate over some more parmesan and bake for 30-40 mins at 190C.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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