Pasta for supper or buffets

Pasta of various kinds is an excellent basis for a supper dish. Allow 1 1/2-2 oz. pasta per person. Cook all pasta in plenty of fast boiling water – too little water means the pasta will stick — and never over-cook it, for this will make it lose both texture and flavour. Here are some quick ways to serve
spaghetti (but other pasta could be used instead). The dishes are enough for 4 large or 6 smaller portions.

Spaghetti with eggs and anchovy fillets:

Cook 8 oz. spaghetti, drain then mix with the oil from 2 small cans anchovy fillets. Chop the fillets from one can and stir A into the spaghetti with 2 tablespoons chopped spring onions or scallions and 4 sliced hard boiled eggs. Spoon into a hot dish or on to hot plates and top with the remainder of the
anchovy fillets and with fried croutons of bread and/or a few fried mushrooms.

Spaghetti with salami:

Cook 8 oz. spaghetti, drain. Meanwhile simmer 1 lb. chopped skinned tomatoes with 1/4 pint (2/3 cup) water or stock; add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 finely grated onion and 1 crushed clove garlic. Season well. Mix 4-8 oz. diced salami with the hot spaghetti, spoon on to hot plates or into a hot dish and top with the puree.

Spaghetti with Meat (Bolognese) Sauce:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan then add 1-2 finely chopped onions, 1 crushed clove garlic and 4 skinned chopped tomatoes. Stir in é pint (1% cups) stock or stock mixed with red wine and seasoning. Add 12 oz.—1 lb. raw minced steak, stir well and simmer steadily for about 1 hour. (Finely chopped herbs, grated or sliced carrots and green pepper may be added). Serve on cooked spaghetti and top with grated cheese.

Lasagna Al Forno

Italian baked lasagne (with yogurt topping)

Meat sauce:
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium—sized onion
1 clove garlic (optional)
about 4-5 large tomatoes plus 1/4 pint (2/3 cup) brown stock or use canned tomatoes with the
liquid from the can
1-2 teaspoons chopped mixed fresh herbs
1 lb. lean minced beef
Seasoning

Cheese sauce:
1 oz. butter
1 oz. (1/4 cup) flour
½ pint [1 1/3 cups) milk
¼ -1/2 level teaspoon dry mustard
seasoning
about 3 oz. (up to 1 cup) grated Gruyere or Cheddar cheese

Pasta:
4-5 oz. lasagne
at least 2 pints (5-6 cups) water
1 teaspoon salt

Yogurt topping:
5 oz. (5/8 cup) yogurt
1 egg
1/2 oz. flour
approximately 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

First make the meat sauce, heat the oil and fry the chopped onion and crushed garlic for a few minutes. Add the skinned chopped tomatoes and stock or the canned tomatoes and liquid. Stir until a fairly smooth purée, then add the herbs and the meat. Cook gently, stirring from time to time to break up the lumps of minced beef. Season well. Allow to simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile make the cheese sauce, heat the butter, stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Blend in the milk, bring to the boil and cook gently until thickened. Stir in the mustard, seasoning and cheese. Do not cook again after adding cheese.

Put the lasagne into the boiling salted water, cook until tender, drain. Lasagne is often dried by draining it over the sides of a saucepan, so that you do not use damp pasta in the dish, and this gives a better result.

Cut the pasta into neat pieces, put in layers with the meat and cheese sauces, but end with lasagne. Top with the yogurt layer, made by blending the yogurt, egg and flour. Spread over the lasagne and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the centre of a moderate oven, 375°F, Gas Mark 4-5, for about 30 minutes. If you have allowed the pasta, meat and cheese sauces to cool, cook about 45 minutes at a slightly lower temperature. Serve at once. Serves 4-5.

Variations: The meat sauce may be thickened with a little cornflour if wished, although I prefer an unthickened sauce. To make a more interesting meat sauce, add a little red wine instead of stock or tomato liquid, a finely chopped green or red pepper and a few chopped mushrooms. You can also flavour the sauce with a little Worcestershire sauce.

A less elaborate dish is made by omitting the cheese sauce. Make the meat sauce, as the main recipe, but increase the amount of stock to 1/2 pint (1 1/3 cups), so the dish will be pleasantly moist. Cook and drain the lasagne. Put layers of the lasagne and meat sauce into the dish and cover each layer with a generous amount of grated Cheddar or grated Gruyere cheese or use the authentic Italian cheeses for this dish, i.e. a mixture of Mozzarella, Ricotta (cream cheese) and the strongly flavoured Parmesan. Put a good layer of grated cheese on top of the dish, but never use the cream cheese, as this burns very easily. Bake as the basic recipe.

Lasagne verdi: This is the name of the green lasagne (it is flavoured with spinach). It can be used in the basic recipe or any of the variations suggested, but it can be served with a good flavoured cheese sauce.

To complete the meal: Serve with a green salad, tossed in well-seasoned oil and vinegar or with a mixed salad. Sliced fennel is particularly good with pasta.

To serve for a buffet: This is an ideal dish for a hot buffet for it is both easy to serve and to eat. It can be prepared beforehand and reheated, in which case make the sauce or sauces a little more liquid, since the pasta absorbs the liquid in standing.

Cannelloni Ripieni

Stuffing:
1 tablespoon oil
1 oz. butter
1 onion
4 oz. (1 cup) mushrooms
small portion green pepper (optional)
2-4 oz. (about ¼-1/2 cup) chopped ham
1 egg
2 oz. (1/4 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
seasoning

Sauce:
1 1/2 oz. butter
1 1/2 oz. (3/8 cup) flour
¾ pint (2 cups) milk
seasoning
1 oz. (1/8 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
2 oz. (1/2 cup) grated Gruyére or Cheddar cheese

Pasta:
6-8 tubes cannelloni
3-4 pints (8-11 cups) water
1 teaspoon salt

To make the stuffing, heat the oil and butter, add the finely chopped onion and chopped ushrooms. Cook gently until tender, then add the chopped green pepper and chopped ham and blend well. Stir in the egg, cheese and seasoning, do not cook again.

To make the sauce, heat the butter in the pan, stir in the flour and cook for several minutes, stirring well. Gradually blend in the milk. Bring to the boil and stir until thickened. Add the seasoning. Stir in the cheeses, but do not cook again.

Cook the cannelloni in the boiling salted water until tender. Drain, allow to cool, then put the filling into each ’tube’ or pancake. If using pancakes roll firmly. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the cheese sauce into an oven-proof dish, add the filled cannelloni, top with the remainder of the sauce. Heat for about 25 minutes, until the cheese sauce is delicately brown. Serves 3-4.

To complete the meal: Serve with broccoli, cauliflower or creamed spinach and follow with fresh fruit.

Macaroni Cheese

3 oz. macaroni
salt
Sauce
1 1/2 oz. butter or margarine
1 1/2 oz. (3/8 cup) flour
¾ pint (2 cups) milk
seasoning
4-6 oz. (1-1 1/2 cups) grated cheese — use Cheddar, Gruyere, Dutch or other good cooking cheese

Topping:
2 oz. (1/2 cup) grated cheese (the variety as above)
2 tablespoons crisp breadcrumbs

Boil the macaroni in salted water until just tender, drain. Make a white sauce with the butter or margarine, flour and milk. Stir well until thickened and add seasoning and the cheese. Do not cook again after adding the cheese. Stir in the macaroni, tip into a hot dish, then top with the cheese and
breadcrumbs.

If the macaroni and sauce are both very hot, brown under a hot grill; but if they have become cool it is better to heat through for about 25 minutes in the centre of a moderate oven, 350-375OF, Gas Mark 4—5. Serves 4—6.

Variations: Ham macaroni cheese: Mix diced cooked ham with the macaroni and cheese sauce.

Macaroni florentine: Put a layer of cooked chopped or sieved spinach at the bottom of the dish, then top with the macaroni cheese mixture above and heat thoroughly.

Fish and macaroni pie: Cook and flake 8-12 oz. white fish. Make the macaroni cheese recipe above, but use only 2 oz. macaroni, so the mixture is less stiff. Add the flaked fish to the cheese sauce, blend with the macaroni and heat as above.

To complete the meal: Serve with salad and fruit.
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