Thai'ing Up Loose Ends - Curried Shrimp Lasagna

I realize I kind of left everyone hanging after my last post regarding Thai Curry Paste.  I have finally had a few moments for finish reducing photos, so here is why I was making Curry Paste.

I have often stated that Lasagna is the worlds most perfect food.  That cleverly layered mix of Tomato sauce, Béchamel, Pasta, Ricotta, Mozzarella and Spinach/Arugula/Chard is the magnum opus of the kitchen.

Little did I know that lasagna could be even more "perfecter" than it already was.

Enter the Thai Curry Paste.

Oh yes my friends, unorthodox though it may be... When you combine a Béchamel made from Coconut milk and a little Curry paste, layer it with Shrimp, Pasta and Ricotta that has been spiked with Galangal and Kaffir lime.  It's Nirvana in a casserole dish.  Seriously, Botticelli's "Madonna of the Magnificat" weeps with joy.

Curried Shrimp Lasagna

3 TB Butter
1 TB Fish Sauce
2 TB Red Curry Paste
3 TB AP Flour
2 cans Coconut Milk
15 oz Whole Milk Ricotta
1 inch Galangal, grated
3 Kaffir Lime leaves, finely slices (or the zest of 1 Kaffir lime)
8 oz Mozzarella, shredded; divided
12 oz Lasagna noodles
1 TB Sesame Oil
1 lb Bay Shrimp (I used precooked this time, but raw works just as well)
2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
(This works equally well with Green Curry Paste and Chicken)

OK, so first we need to start the Thai Béchamel.....
Melt 3 TB Butter in a medium sauce pan set over medium flame.

In a small ramekin, combine the Fish sauce and the Curry paste while the butter is melting.

Once the butter is melted, add the Flour, continuing to cook the roux until it just begins to smell nutty.

Add the Coconut Milk and whisk until everything is well combined.

Whisk in the curry paste mixture, then continue cooking until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken (about 15 minutes)

Meanwhile, bring a tea kettle full of water to a boil.
Lay out the lasagne noodles in a baking dish and pour the boiling water over them, letting them set for about 10 minutes until the begin soften.

While the lasagne are softening, and the Béchamel is continuing to cook, grab a medium bowl and add the Ricotta, 4 oz of the Mozzarella, Galangal and the Kaffir lime, stirring to combine....

(Don't forget the Galangal, like I did... oops)

By now the Béchamel should be thickened, so remove it from the flame and allow to cool for 10 minutes.....
While you remove the now slightly bendable pasta from the water and lay it out on paper towels.

Rub down your 13 x 9 baking dish with a little Sesame oil.

OK, now you are ready for construction, but before you begin...  Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
Spoon about 1/4 of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and spread it out.

 Lay down your noodles.

Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.

Scatter about 1/2 of the shrimp over the Ricotta mixture.

Spoon just enough Béchamel over the Shrimp to cover them.

Add another layer of noodles and repeat (Like washing your hair.... Ricotta, Shrimp, Béchamel, repeat)

Again, cover the last layer of Shrimp and Béchamel with another layer of Pasta. (To recap - Béchamel, Pasta, Ricotta, Shrimp, Béchamel, Pasta, Ricotta, Shrimp, Béchamel, Pasta)
And finally, cover that last layer of Pasta with the remaining Béchamel.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining 4 oz of Mozzarella and the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes (Be sure to put a sheet pan underneath, cause Lasagna ALWAYS stews over)

Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking to get a nice golden brown crust on the cheese topping.

Let it set for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Serve with Gewurztraminer or Riesling.

Mangia!!
~~

The Cookie of 1000 Disguises - Oregon Coffee Nuts

Russian Tea Cakes or would that be Mexican Wedding Cookies? Maybe Southern Pecan Butterballs? Polvorones? How about Swedish Tea Cakes, Italian Butter Nuts, Snowdrops, Viennese Sugar Balls, Sand Tarts, Melting Moments or Snowballs? Any of those sound familiar?  How about Almond Crescents, Danish Almond Cookies (Mandelsmørboller) or Finnish Butter Strips?

You may recognize several of the above names.  I myelf am familiar with Melting Moments, Almond Crescents and Snowballs.  And while it's true that the last three in the above list have a little more to do with the final shape of the cookies, which helps to distinguish them slightly, they are all basically the same cookie whose history runs all the way back to the Moorish invasion of Spain.

Oh, there are slight differences... Mexican wedding cookies sometimes have cinnamon mixed in with the confectioners' sugar that they are rolled in, and I think they are made with Almonds.  Russian Tea cakes seem to be made primarily with Walnuts. (though that may not necessarily be true)  Almond Crescents are crescent shaped instead of round little balls.  I assume that "Southern Pecan Butterballs" are made with Pecans. ;)  Bringing me to what seems to be the general rule of thumb -- "If you change the nuts, change the shape, or add a spice to the dusting sugar, you get to give it a new name"  LOL

Thus, since I am using Oregon Hazelnuts, I am dubbing these..... Oregon Coffee Nuts (We drink more coffee than tea 'round these parts.  As a bonus to today's recipe, I am going to walk you through blanching a Hazelnut.  There are a billion posts out on the net "labeled" as blanching that involve actually toasting the nuts in the oven and rubbing the skins off with a towel....  MESSY!
I spend weeks sweeping Hazelnut skins off my kitchen floor every single time I do it that way, not to mention the multiple launderings to get the skin bits out of the towel. 

Blanching by definition involves boiling water, not an oven.  Thus, one must drop said nuts into boiling water for a certain amount of time, then shock them with cold water.  When it comes to nuts, it is best to add a little Baking Soda to the blanching water.  Baking Soda will break down the cellulose in the skins and make peeling that much easier.  No messy towels.  Woo Hoo!!!

Oregon Coffee Nuts

2 Quarts of Water
2 TB Baking Soda
1 cup (8 oz) (227g) Unsalted Cultured Butter
1/2 cup (1.9 oz) (55g) Confectioners' Sugar (Plus a lot more for rolling the cookies)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or Bean Caviar)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 1/4 cups (11.3 oz) (320 g) AP Flour
3/4 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) finely ground Toasted Hazelnuts

Bring 2 quarts of water, laced with 2 TB Baking Soda, to a boil. (The Baking Soda breaks down the cellulose structure of the skins, allowing them to slough off)

Drop hazelnuts into the water and boil for 5 minutes.

(The water is going to turn a REALLY weird purplish-brown color from the tannin in the skins.  I know the season is past, but you can dye Easter eggs with it, I'm just sayin)

Drain and shock the nuts with cold water; so much for skins. (though you may still need to do a little rubbing, but they slide right off)

And while I never look forward to cleaning the strainer afterward,

I love having nice clean Hazelnuts.  (The roasting, peeling in a towel thing NEVER works this well)

Now place the nuts in a single layer on a sheet pan.

Roast at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes. (just until they start to brown)

Set nuts aside to cool; then chop finely. (do not throw them in a chopper while warm or you will have "hazelnut butter" in 2 pulses, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but will not assist you well in the formation of these cookies)

In a large bowl beat the Butter and Kosher Salt until light.

Add Confectioners' Sugar and Vanilla.

Beat on low speed of mixer about 1 minute, until fluffy.

Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined

Stir in the finely chopped nuts.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls (.5 oz) (15g); (I use a small cookie scoop) and place about 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 F for 12-14 minutes, though my old oven baked them in 10 minutes, until firm to the touch but not actually browned. (careful, cause they burn very quickly on the bottom)

Meanwhile, prep a storage bag by dumping copious quantities of confectioners' Sugar therein.

You wioll also want to set waxed paper underneath your cooling rack to catch any wayward sugar that falls off the cookies.

While still warm, roll the cookies in the bag full of Confectioners' Sugar. (I do 4 at a time)

Set on a cooling rack.

Save the Confectioners' Sugar in the bag, because you will need it again.....

Before serving, re-roll in powdered sugar.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee..... or tea (as is implied by about 1/2 of the names under which this cookie is known)  ;)

Mangia!!
~~

Leapin' Lepeshki - lep-YOSH-key

Since I have been on a scone kick lately, I thought it might be nice to travel to mainland Europe and touch on something rather scone-like.  After all, the English haven't completely cornered the market on tea time treats.

Meet the Lepeshki (lep-YOSH-key) of Eastern Europe.  A delicious Rye Flour based scone/cookie containing Sour Cream instead of the Cream and Butter of the English Scone.  The Sour cream is not merely an affectation of the region.  Just as with Rye Bread, the Sour Cream provides the necessary acid in the dough to prevent the Amylase from breaking down the starches in the Rye, thus allowing for a better rise.  There is a little bonus acidity provided by the honey that is used in the sweetening of these delectable pastries as well.

So in a nutshell, this is a rich whole grain (though there is some AP flour too) "scone" that has been lightly sweetened with Honey and delicately flavored with Almonds.  Yeah, delicious with Tea... or Coffee... or Milk... or Water....  hmmmm  or with a second Lepeshki.  LOL

Lepeshki

2 cups (8 oz) (235g) Dark Rye Flour
1 1/2 cups (6.7 oz) (190g) AP Flour; plus a little more for rolling
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 TB Baking Powder
1/4 cup (.8 oz) (25g) Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda 
1/2 (4 oz) (112g) cup Honey
3/4 cup (3 oz) (90g) Sour Cream
1 1/2 TB Whole Milk
3/4 tsp Almond Extract 
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 large Eggs; 1 TB of the white removed
1 oz sliced Almond

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)(GM 6).
Whisk Rye Flour, AP Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Sugar and Baking Soda together in a medium bowl, making a well in the center.

In a separate small bowl combine Honey, Sour Cream, Milk and Extracts.

Crack eggs into a tiny bowl, separating 1 TB of white from 1 of the eggs into a separate bowl.

Beat eggs briefly with a fork and add to the Sour Cream mixture.

Pour this Egg/Sour Cream mixture into the well you have made in the flour.

Mix together with a fork or your finger, in a circular motion slowly incorporating more of the liquid as you mix until you have formed a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Using a round cutter, make 2 1/2 inch to 3 inch rounds and place on a parchment lined sheet pan.

With a dry pastry brush, remove any excess flour from the tops of the lepeshki.

Whisk the reserved egg white slightly to break it up a little.

Brush with reserved egg white onto the top of each round,

then lay sliced almond across the top.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes; they will still be very light in color, but you do not want to over toast the almonds on top.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Try and wait until they are cooled before serving...  I usually can't wait that long.  :)

Mangia!!
~~