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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2015 14 Food Comforting pasta dishes on Gourmet Today TV The cooler weather makes us crave comfort food, and what is more comforting than a delicious plate of pasta. On last week's episode of Gourmet Today, Sean Gravina made a creamy pasta dish without any cream at all, using chicken stock (use veg stock to make it a vegetarian meal) and the water used to cook the pasta. The king of all comfort dishes has to be lasagne. Sean has an easy recipe using Tuscan sausages and cacio e pepe sauce to turn this into an instant family favourite. Tuscan lasagne with Italian sausage and cacio e pepe Serves 6 Ingredients • 1 packet De Cecco Lasagne sheets • 1 tbsp olive oil • 800g sweet Italian sausage, removed from its casing • 1 cup diced Spanish onion • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 2 tbsp tomato paste • 4 sprigs thyme • 450g crushed San Marzano tomatoes • 2 bay leaves • 400g fresh ricotta, drained in colander • 1 cup pecorino, grated • 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley • 250ml double/whipping cream • 250ml chicken stock • ¾ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated Method 1. To make the sauce, heat a heavy sauté pan on medium heat and cook the sausage in olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme and a clove of garlic for about 7 mins, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 2. Once done transfer to a plate on kitchen towel to drain excess fat. 3. Add the onions and garlic to the fat in the pan and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 3 mins. 4. Return the sausage to the pan, add the tomato paste and bay leaf and cook until it turns slightly darker. 5. Stir in the tomatoes, a cup of water and simmer until cooked, adding water/stock if needed, approx. 1 hour. 6. Pre heat the oven to 180°C. 7. Remove the sauce from the heat and add half the ricotta to the sauce. 8. Make the cacio e pepe sauce by combining the cream and stock in a small pot and bring to a simmer on a medium heat. 9. Put an immersion blender in the pot and, with the blender running, sprinkle in the Parmigiano and ¾ cup pecorino, blending until a smooth sauce forms. 10. Season with salt and pepper and a generous grinding of black pepper. 11. Drizzle some olive oil on the baking dish and start laying the pasta sheet, adding a ladle of the sausage sauce, plenty of streaks of cacio e pepe, a few nuggets of ricotta and so on, adding some pecorino in the middle layer. 12. Once your dish is stacked finish off the top with plenty of the cacio e pepe sauce and season. 13. Place in the hot oven and after 20 minutes take the lasagna out of the oven and increase the temp to 220°C. Add some grated parmigiano/ pecorino and put back in the oven for the last 10 mins or until golden brown, finish off with chopped parsley. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 1 November, 2015. Ingredients • 500g De Cecco Casareccia • ¼ cup olive oil • 500g mixed wild mushrooms • 2 garlic cloves • 1 sprig of rosemary • 4 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped • ½ cup dry white wine • ½ cup cognac or brandy • 2 cups chicken stock • 2 table spoons cold unsalted butter • ¾ cup grated truffled pecorino, plus more for serving • Salt and pepper • Quality white truffle oil • Cress Method 1. Fill a large pot with water, salt it liberally and bring it to the boil over high heat. 2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Pour a neutral oil, when smoking add the mushrooms and toss. 3. Allow to cook for about 3 mins, tossing a few times. 4. Add the garlic, anchovies, rosemary and stir frequently with a wooden spoon. 5. Stir in the wine and cognac and simmer until the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid is slightly syrupy. 6. Pour the chicken stock and reduce by half, remove from the heat. Cover to keep warm 7. Add the butter, a few pieces at a time while the pan is on a medium heat, stirring the sauce until it is completely emulsified. If the sauce is too thick add a few drops of pasta water. Season well. 8. Boil the pasta by following the instructions on the packet, once it is at al dente stage add the drained pasta to sauce with a few tablespoons of the pasta water and toss on a medium heat. 9. Drizzle with truffle oil and a few shavings of truffled pecorino. 10. Plate and dress with cress and a drizzle of extra virgin oil. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 30 October, 2015. Casareccia with wild mushrooms and truffle oil