Guest Chefs John and Eric

August 17, 2011

Wheat Berry Lasagna

Guest Chef's John and Eric:  My brother-in-law John and his son Eric came to show me how to put together a terrific lasagna with a sauce we made ourselves. I did realize that if I would like to encourage men to guest chef, I really do need to get some new aprons. My grandma's aprons are really not suitable for the guys. It was an interesting evening, since my air conditioning went out the day before we planned to cook and the repair man couldn't come until the day after. As a result, we had to cook in a rather hot kitchen. We invited Jeff's family and ended up with a clan of 14. This one pan of lasagna actually fed all 14 with 3 pieces to spare. The 3 layers made it nice and deep. If you want to wow your family give this recipe a whirl. It looks fabulous and tastes like gourmet. We began unloading the groceries at 4:15 and set the food out for feasting at 6:30. Thanks guys it was molto eccellente.



garlic cloves



Things I learned: Since this recipe used some items I was not accustomed to using, I did learn a number of things. I have always shied away from buying fresh garlic, because believe it or not, I had never seen anyone break off the cloves or cut them up. I really did not know how to mince a garlic. I'm pretty sure many of my non-cooking friends have not minced garlic either. After watching John break off the cloves and cut each of them into small pieces, I wondered why it had seemed so daunting. I also learned that making my own sauce was not that difficult and tasted amazingly better than the jar sauce I generally use. The sauce required only a little chopping and sauteing. Not so tricky after all. The lasagna recipe called for soft wheat berry which I had never heard of. John explained that it is sold at the health food store. Including wheat berries in the lasagna made me curious about them which prompted me to go to the internet and look them up.

I found out Soft Wheat Berries are actually the wheat kernel before it is ground into flour. It literally is the "whole wheat." Anyone with a home mill can actually buy the berries and grind their own flour. They have fiber, protein and iron. If you like sprouts, the berry can be used to grow sprouts which have vitamin E, antioxidants and magnesium for healthy bones and muscles. The berries add texture and gave it a wheat and nutty flavor. They are often used in stir fry or salads. They can also be substituted for or added to rice. It is necessary to boil and simmer the wheat berry before adding to recipes. Truly a cute little addition to lasagna to make it tasty and nutritious.

John's Tip for his lasagna: (click on the video)

Wheat Berry Lasagna

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a small saucepan combine 3/4 cup soft wheat berry and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer while preparing the vegetables.

Ingredients                                      
3/4 cup soft wheat berry
1 onion chopped
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 lb hamburger
1 28 oz can large diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 10 oz pk frozen spinach
1 pk wheat lasagna noodles
1 lb shredded mossarella cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese
1-2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
2 large sliced tomatoes

In a small bowl combine these spices

1 1/2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 heaping tsp basil

2 heaping tsp oregano

1 heaping tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp pepper

2 T parsley

1/2 tsp baking soda

Chop onion and mince garlic
In a skillet heat olive oil                                             
Saute the onions and garlic until soft
Add and cook the hamburger until brown (omit if you'd rather go vegetarian)
Add canned tomatoes and tomato paste
Stir in the frozen spinach
Add the bowlful of spices and the soft wheat berry
Stir and simmer until well blended

To layer the lasagna

 

Spray the pan with a non stick spray to prevent sticking                            

Layer 1: Line the bottom of the pan with sauce

Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over top of sauce

Dob 1/2 the ricotta cheese on top of the noodles and spread around

Cover the ricotta cheese with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese

Layer 2: Put on another layer of sauce

Add a few slices of fresh tomato

Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over layers and press down to fit

Dob with second 1/2 of ricotta cheese and spread around

Cover with second 1/2 of mozzarella cheese

Add a few slices of fresh tomato

Layer 3: Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over layers and press down

Cover with remaining sauce

Shred the parmesan cheese on top

Place several fresh tomato slices on top

                  

Bake uncovered for an hour

                                          

Eric and John also made Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions to go along with the lasagna.The recipe can be found on cooks.com.  We heated up some  baked wheat bread to go along. I threw together a spinach and strawberry salad and set out some fresh melon and pineapple. To top off our italian night, for dessert John and Eric dished us up a taste of chocolate and raspberry sorbetto.