Sweet Noodle Kugel
Kugel:
500g (17.5 oz) noodles
56g (1/2 stick) butter
6 eggs
500g (17.5 oz) cottage cheese
345g (1 1/2 cup) sour cream
80ml (1/3 cup) light cream
225g (1 cup) white sugar
120g (4 oz) raisins
Topping:
4 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1) Cook noodles according to directions (Add a splash of oil into the boiling water before cooking to prevent noodles from sticking together). Once cooked, rinse under cold water for 1 minute. Drain well.
2) Preheat oven to 190C / 375F. Lightly grease a deep metal square baking pan and set aside.
3) In a small bowl, combine together the topping ingredients and set aside.
4) In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly. Beat in the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, light cream and sugar. Mix everything well. Add in the noodles and raisins and stir to combine.
5) Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumb/sugar mixture.
6) Bake for approximately 1 hour. You may check the Kugel after 45-50 minutes. If the center looks a little bit runny but the edges are brown and firm, you may remove it from the oven. It will firm up while cooling.
7) Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or cold.
Recipe by collecting memories
I haven't posted for a while but after publishing the coconut cheesecake recipe, I decided that it deserves to stay on the first page of my blog a little bit longer. Yes, it was that good.
But now it's time for another "that good" recipe: the creamiest ever lasagna. If you like Bechamel sauce, pasta, mushrooms, cheese and garlic, you're going to love this. It's oozing with cheesy white sauce and it's packed with juicy mushrooms.
I don't make lasagna very often but when I make it, I eat nothing but lasagna. This lasagna was finished within 2 days just by me. It would've been finished the same day but I had to save one piece for pictures. Blogging is a hard job.
Mushroom Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
2 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
450g mushrooms, sliced
salt
9 lasagna noodles (150g)
120g cheese (1 1/2 cup), grated
Bechamel sauce:
750ml (3 cups) milk
45g butter
24g (3 tbsp) flour
salt
1) Heat oil in a saucepan. Add onions, garlic and cook, until soft and lightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and become soft. Cook a few more minutes until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
2) Make the bechamel sauce: In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add flour and stir for a minute until smooth. Start pouring the milk and stir very quickly so you avoid any lumps. You will have to stir it constantly. Cook, over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. It might take 10-20 minutes. For this lasagna, I like my bechamel sauce thicker than usually, but it's up to you. It must be thick enough to coat the spoon. By the end of cooking, add salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
3) Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a 20x20cm (8x8 inch) baking dish. Now start layering. You can layer it as you wish, but I did it this way: Bechamel sauce (enough to coat the bottom of a baking dish), lasagna noodles, half of the mushroom mixture, half of the shredded cheese, Some bechamel sauce, noodles, remaining mushrooms, noodles, bechamel sauce, noodles, remaining bechamel sauce and cheese.
4) Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and increase the heat to 200C (400F). Bake for another 20 minutes.
5) Let cool a little bit. Don't serve it right after you remove it from the oven. It's better to cool it for a longer time because the bechamel sauce will be too runny if you serve it immediately.
P.S. It's also very good the next day. I even liked it cold! Or you can always reheat it in your microwave.
Serves 4.
Recipe by collecting memories
Pasta dishes have always been my favourite ones. It's because pasta is extremely versatile and you can think of thousands of yummy dishes to make with it. One of my latest experiments was this creamy pasta salad. What is good about it, is that despite being amazingly delicious, it is also healthy. The dressing is made with greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
P.S. it is even better the next day after being refrigerated overnight. Enjoy!
Creamy Pasta Salad with Greek Yogurt Feta Dressing
200g ditalini pasta, cooked and drained
1 can sweet corn
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, sliced
55g (handful) of black olives, halved
1/2 head lettuce (Iceberg), chopped
75g mixed baby leaves, chopped
salt & pepper
Greek Yogurt Feta Dressing
100g Feta cheese
300g/ (a little more than 1 cup) greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1) In a large bowl, combine together all the ingredients for the salad. Set aside.
2) For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to make a smooth paste. Alternatively, you can simply put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix everything by hand.
3) Pour the dressing onto the salad and mix until evenly distributed. Keep in refrigerator.
Recipe by collecting memories
I have been making so many dishes with pumpkin recently. I guess I won't stop until I try it with everything. This one's a perfectly creamy, mild, light and satisfying dish. It is also very easy to prepare as there are just a few ingredients.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
200g your favourite pasta (I used Lumache)
300g pumpkin puree
60g sour cream or yogurt*
50g your favourite hard cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
*I used sour cream which contains 10% of fat so you could also probably use Greek yogurt instead.
1) Boil the pasta in a salted water according to the directions and drain well.
2) In a saucepan over low heat, combine together pumpkin puree, sour cream and cheese. Mix well until smooth and the cheese has melted. Add pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with some shredded cheese.
Serves 2.
Recipe by collecting memories
I love experimenting. But what I love most is when these experiments turn out great. Just like this green lasagna. When I cut the first slice I was amazed by the bright green colour. What surprised me even more, was the perfect texture. It was so easy to slice it nicely and take it out of the baking pan without leaving it in the room temperature after baking to set. But actually when I saw that green colour, I was a little bit scared - I was afraid there was too much spinach! And this is how the story began. My mother brought a few large bags of spinach from her own garden. So that meant I had to think of something delicious to make to use up these spinach. I searched for a recipe, browsed the tried ones until I found lasagna noodles in my cupboard and came up with idea of making green lasagna.
And that was a very good idea.
The taste was amazing! There wasn't too much spinach. The layers were creamy and so so good. I took too many photos again.. But at least you can see how this lasagna looks from every angle.
Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna
14 no-boil lasagna noodles
4 packed cups chopped spinach (about 300g)*
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white bell pepper, chopped
60g parmesan cheese
100g mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
400g ricotta cheese
2 cups pasta sauce
1/3 tsp salt
pinch ground pepper
*I packed the cups with already chopped spinach very tightly. It might be more than 300g - this is just an approximate measurement. I think it will be ok if you add a little more or less of them.
1)
Heat oil in a pan and add onions and bell pepper. Saute until softened
and lightly golden. Add garlic and saute a little more. Turn off the
heat and let cool a bit.
2) In a large bowl, lightly
beat the eggs. Add ricotta, spinach, half of parmesan and half of
mozzarella cheese. Add salt and pepper. When the onion/bell pepper mixture has cooled, add it to the spinach mixture. Mix everything until combined.
3) Preheat oven to 180C and prepare a 23x23 square baking dish.
4)
Pour 1 cup of pasta sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish and coat
it evenly. Place lasagna noodles on top. Spread some spinach mixture on
top of them. Repeat these steps 3 times (except for the pasta sauce).
Finally, spread the remaining pasta sauce onto the noodles and sprinkle
with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and
bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for additional 15-20 minutes. Let
sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Pasta. Mozzarella. Ricotta. Spinach. Garlic. Pesto.
Sounds good.
But when these ingredients come together, it doesn't only sound good, it tastes amazing.
These jumbo shells were out of this world. I mean it. When I tasted them, I was almost crying. I couldn't believe how well they turned out! The filling was so creamy and so, so good. It rarely happens when I don't know what could be improved in a dish. And this time it happened! Really, they were perfect. And I ate 8 shells at once. I felt a bit guilty because one serving is 4 shells. As always.
Spinach, Ricotta and Pesto stuffed Jumbo Shells
200g jumbo pasta shells
250g ricotta
100g spinach, chopped
200g mozzarella, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp pesto sauce
1/3 tsp salt
pinch white pepper
2 cups pasta sauce*
*I used half homemade half Heinz.
1) Preheat oven to 180 deg. C.
2) Boil pasta shells to al dente. Pour on cold water and coat with a dash of olive oil so they don't stick together.
3) In a medium bowl, combine together ricotta, spinach, 150g mozzarella, egg, garlic, dried oregano, pesto, salt and white pepper. Set aside.
4) Coat the bottom of your baking dish with 1 cup of pasta sauce.
5) Fill pasta shells with the filling and place them into the baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
6) Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes.
It's a quick, simple and delicious dish. Perfect for the days when you don't have time for preparing stews or casseroles. I really enjoyed this but I regret I didn't have any fresh basil. I believe this is an essential ingredient for this pasta and dried basil can't replace the fresh one.
Yield: Serves 1
1 medium sized ripe
Avocado, pitted
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt,
or to taste
1/4 cup Fresh Basil,
(I used 2 tsp dried basil because I didn't have any fresh)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive
oil
1 serving your favourite pasta
1. Cook your pasta according to the directions.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: place the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and
olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted
avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta
into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Serve immediately.
