The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (22 page)

A perfect dish for the harried host or hostess, this elegant baked pasta can be made ahead and cooked just be fore the party. It also freezes well.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a skillet, sauté the sliced mush rooms in the butter until they are tender. Reserve them.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, 2 spinach, basil, salt and pepper, eggs, and parmesan cheese. Mix them together thoroughly, and set the bowl aside.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, and briefly sauté the garlic. Add the flour, and, stirring with a wire whisk, cook the roux over medium heat for several minutes. Gradually add the chicken broth and milk to the butter-and-flour mixture, whisking constantly. Cook the sauce over medium heat until it is thickened. Stir in the tomato paste, and season the sauce with salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce.

To assemble the lasagna, spread " the bottom of a large rectangular pan (approximately 11¾ by 7½ by 1¾ inches) with some of the sauce, then add a layer of noodles. Top this with a layer of mushrooms, the seafood, and then the spinach-cheese mixture. Add another layer of noodles. Spoon on the remaining sauce, and top with a layer of grated Swiss and cheddar cheeses.

Bake the lasagna for 35 to 45 minutes, then cut it into pieces, and serve it hot.

 

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Most of our pasta recipes are quick and simple. This stunner is not. But when you are having an elegant dinner party and feel like pulling out all the stops, this is sure to wow your guests.

 

To make the tomato sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet, and cook the onion, covered, for 5 minutes over very low heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic,
bouquet garni,
orange zest, and sugar. Cover the skillet, and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Remove the garlic,
bouquet garni,
and orange peel. Purée the sauce by passing it through a sieve or the fine disc of a food mill. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and reserve it.

To make the scallop filling, combine the scallops, mushrooms, and milk in a small saucepan. Place the pan over low heat, and heat until the milk begins to bubble around the edge. The scallops should be opaque but still very tender. Turn off the heat, and allow the scallops and mushrooms to steep.

Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it has just begun to bubble, add the bacon, onions, and garlic. Sauté them, stirring, until the mixture is golden brown. Stir in the flour, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, without allowing the flour to color. Strain the milk from the scallops into the saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sauce has thickened. Add the sherry, salt and pepper, parsley, and lemon juice. Carefully stir in the scallops and mush rooms. Taste, and adjust the seasonings, if you like. Let the sauce cool.

To make the pasta, put the egg and herbs into a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and whirl until the herbs are chopped and completely combined with the egg. If you are using a food processor, add the flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, and whirl until the contents are blended. Add just enough water to allow the dough to form a ball. If you will be rolling the pasta by hand, continue to work the dough in the processor for about 2 minutes.

If you are making the pasta entirely by hand, mix the flour and salt together, then mound them on a work surface. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg-herb mixture. Stir the egg around and around, picking up flour from the edge each time. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, flour your hands and begin kneading, adding just enough water to allow you to form a ball. Knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny, about 10 to 12 minutes.

If you are using a pasta machine, open the rollers to their widest, and put the dough through. Fold the dough in half, flour it, and repeat. Run the dough through the rollers on increasingly narrow settings until the pasta is the thickness you like. Place the rolled dough on a floured surface to dry slightly.

If you are forming the pasta by hand, divide the dough into six equal parts, and roll each into a thin 6-inch round. Allow the rounds to dry on a floured surface.

If you are using strips made by machine, cut them into 6-inch lengths, and stretch the strips with your hands so they are 6 inches wide as well as long.

Using a 6-inch round plate or bowl as a guide, cut the pasta into six circles. Cut the scraps into fettuccine-size strips, with a machine or by hand.

Drop the rounds into rapidly boiling salted water into which you have put 2 tablespoons olive oil. Carefully remove the rounds as they rise to the top, and flip them onto a counter or baking sheet. Cook the pasta strips, and drain them.

Preheat the oven to 425°.

When the pasta rounds are cool enough, spread them flat with your hands. Place a generous spoonful of the scallop filling in the center of each round, and draw up the edge to form a pouch. Pinch the top together, and secure it with a cocktail pick. Trim the top with a sharp knife, and wind one of the pasta strips around the top to resemble a flower. Make five more pasta flowers the same way.

Bring the sauce to a boil, and whiskinto it the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces. Spoon the tomato sauce into six scallop shells or oven-proof dishes. Place a scallop-filled pasta flower on each shell or dish, and brush the flower with olive oil. Bake the flowers for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown.

Serve them immediately.

 

Makes 6 servings

The colors of this pasta dish are very handsome, showing what can happen when Caribbean ingredients infiltrate another cuisine—magic!

 

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, and sauté the leeks until they are soft. Add the pumpkin, white wine, and salt and pepper. Simmer the pumpkin filling until it is thickened, then remove the pan from the heat.

For the bean filling, heat the butter in a skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, and add the black beans. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Remove the pan from the heat.

For the béchamel sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan, and stir in the flour. Cook the roux over low heat, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Gradually add the broth and milk. Cook gently for about 5 minutes.

Add the half-and-half, cheese, and nutmeg. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Whisk in the eggs, and cook the sauce over very low heat until it is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat.

To assemble the lasagna, spread one-quarter of the béchamel over the bottom of a large baking dish (approximately 1 1¾ by 7½ by 1¾ inches). Layer one-third of the noodles, pumpkin filling, bean filling, and walnuts, and repeat this process two times, ending with the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the lasagna with the parmesan cheese, and bake the lasagna for 1 hour or until it is hot and bubbly.

Cut the lasagna into pieces, and serve it immediately.

 

Makes 10 to 12 servings