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parascheva1014
Moderator
USA
1273 Posts |
 Posted - 04/02/2007 : 12:18:52
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Pascha Lasagna
Lily Parascheva Rowe
This is my recipe for Pascha Lasagna. As a convert I don’t really know how to cook a lot of the ethnic foods and some of them I don’t really care for. I created this recipe because it’s basically a lot of cheese and meat with a little gratuitous pasta and sauce. It’s also the only thing I know of that will stay hot out of the oven for 4 hours while we have the service plus they can be assembled well before the hustle and bustle of Holy Week and stored in the freezer until Pascha. It is absolutely a glorious and satisfying way to break the fast. I make two, one for the whole parish to share pieces of after our Pascha Liturgy, and one for my family to have for Pascha dinner Sunday evening. The only time I make this is for Pascha so if your going to make this please make it for Pascha.
Makes 2 9X13 Pans
8 ounces of sweet Italian sausage
8 ounces of hot Italian sausage
16 ounces of boneless leg of lamb
16 ounces of boneless chicken thighs
2 cups of chopped onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 12 ounce can of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of fennel seeds, crushed (optional*)
½ teaspoon of black pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
18 dried lasagna noodles
6 beaten eggs
2 48 ounce containers of ricotta cheese
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 cup of grated Romano cheese
2 32 ounce bags of mozzarella cheese
2 9x13 disposable foil lasagna pans
1.For sauce in a stock pot cook meat and garlic in a little olive oil until meat is brown. I usually squeeze the sausage out of the casing as it is easier to break up. Most people would drain the meat… but I don’t… its Pascha right!!!
2.Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, fennel (if desired), salt and pepper into meat mixture bring to boiling, reduce heat and let simmer until it reaches a good consistency. You want it to be a little thick. Sometimes I let it simmer with the lid off to speed things up. It can take around 20 min… sometimes longer.
3.Meanwhile, cook noodles 10-12 minutes until cooked but still firm. It’s really important not to over cook them. Drain noodles and cool under cold water. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. I always cook a few extra in case some break.
4.For filling combine eggs, ricotta, parmesan, and Romano cheese. Set aside.
5.To assemble the lasagnas spread a little sauce on the bottom. Put 3 noodles down on top of that. Add a layer of sauce, followed by a layer of the ricotta mixture and topped of with mozzarella cheese. You don’t need to skimp on the cheese like some other lasagna recipes. Trust me you will have more than enough. Repeat this process one more time. Add a layer of noodles to the top followed by a little sauce and completely cover with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese. (By generous I mean the only thing you can see is cheese… around a ¼ inch or so.)
6.Cover with aluminum foil and store in the freezer.
7.About 3 hours before you go to church preheat the oven to 375. Put one of the frozen lasagnas in the oven on the center rack. You’ll have to keep watching it. I keep it covered until the whole thing seems like its thawed and boiling then I take the cover off and cook it until all the cheese is a nice burnt and golden color. For some reason the time varies from 2 – 3 hours. Usually it take about 45 minutes once its completely thawed and boiling to get to that burnt cheese and done stage. You could thaw ahead of time and then cooking would probably be around an hour uncovered.
For Presure Cooker: Add everything for the sauce into the preasure cooker all at once. Add 2 1/2 cups of water. Cook for 30min after the 'rocking' starts. Alow presure to fall on it's own. This will take a while. When you remove the lid if the sauce is too thin then allow it to simmer on low with the lid off until it's ready. It should be the consistance of spagetti sauce.
*Fennel is what turns pork fat into Italian sausage. During lent I've added it to all sorts of things to give it a little flavor. If you had some different chillis for heat it makes a really unique hummus |
Edited by - parascheva1014 on 04/02/2009 16:41:33 |
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macacic
Moderator
USA
1965 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 13:00:23
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| I'm certainly going to give this one a try, and I really should send you a recipe for cevapcici. |
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parascheva1014
Moderator
USA
1273 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2007 : 17:54:31
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| Ooooops.... before I posted this I forgot to include the measures I changed when I tweaked the recipe last year. I've made edits to the ingrediant list so please if you already printed it, be sure to print a new one. |
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parascheva1014
Moderator
USA
1273 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2007 : 14:14:21
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| I added a segment for makeing the meat sauce with a presure cooker. I havn't tasted it obviously but it appears to be a much better and easier method. The meat appears to be very soft. It also eliminates any need to stand over a stock pot stiring constantly. |
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Darinka
Junior Member
131 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2007 : 12:33:20
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macacic wrote:
I'm certainly going to give this one a try, and I really should send you a recipe for cevapcici.
Please! Post it, and I will post my recipe for Gibanica.
Parascheva1014,
The lasagna sounds lovely; will definitely try it! |
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Lover of Monasticism
Average Member
USA
919 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2007 : 12:35:44
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| Hey, does anyone know any meatless recipes? I don't eat meat. (Eggs, dairy and fish are fine, though.) You know, I've noticed that a lot of times monks and nuns like to substitute meat with tuna, and it works nicely. (One thing that comes to mind is their pastitsio, which is out of this world.) |
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Darinka
Junior Member
131 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2007 : 15:14:03
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LOM,
Here is a simple recipe for a delicious spread you can put on anything (bread, crackers, baked potatoes, etc.):
KAJMAK ('kai [like 'kayak'] -maack')
2 sticks butter
1 & 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened
After butter and cream cheese are soft (room temp), put all 3 ingredients in bowl and mix well (I just use my electric hand-mixer & scrape the beaters with a butter knife after all is blended).
Chill and serve |
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Darinka
Junior Member
131 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2007 : 17:03:27
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Gibanica
Cheese dish:
1 lb feta
1 large container cottage cheese
1 cube butter, melted
1 TBSP olive oil
6-7 egg yolk, beaten
1 TBSP club soda
6-6 egg white, beaten stiff
1 pkg phyllo dough
Mix crumbled feta, cottage cheese, butter, oil, egg yolk & club soda - mix well
gently fold in egg whites
butter a 9x13 pyrex baking dish
'spread' cheese mix on bottom of dish (you can just spoon it on and
slightly spread - does not need to be completely 'spread out')
layer 2 - 3 sheets of phyllo (not 'flat'; form 'peaks & valleys')
repeat layers, ending with cheese mixture
bake at 350 for 1 hour or until golden brown
best served warm, but cold is good, too
PRIJESNAC
Serb cheese bread:
4 eggs, beaten
1 lb jack cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes
3 TBSP cottage cheese
2 - 3 cup Bisquick (plain flour is OK, but Bisquick is better!) - batter should not be too 'runny'
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP buttermilk
Beat eggs, add cheese, butter, cottage cheese, Bisquick & buttermilk, mix well.
Pour into greased 9x12 pyrex dish (or two to three 1/2 full loaf pans)
bake at 350 for 45 minutes or till golden brown
cool a bit before slicing - if using loaf pans, I cool on wire racks
best served warm; easy to reheat 'piecemeal' in microwave or wrapped in foil in oven...
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parascheva1014
Moderator
USA
1273 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 11:22:07
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| It's that time again. I made this topic sticky so it could be easily found by anyone who wanted to make this ahead of time. I'm having a baby in the middle of lent so I have to do it now. |
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On the Journey
Starting Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 21:39:56
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These all sound so delicious! Right on time....after the first day of fasting!
Several years ago, at a church I was visiting (Holy Transfiguration, New Haven),
someone made a cheese pascha with pineapple. It was delicious. Does anyone have
a recipe for that? I have a brand new pascha mold, but no recipe.
Thanks,
Lee
Forgive me, the sinner. |
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On the Journey
Starting Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 21:42:29
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I forgot to mention, I eat no meat or other flesh, so other festive meatless recipes would be
appreciated as well.
Lee
Forgive me, the sinner. |
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shanmo9
Junior Member
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2008 : 07:47:25
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 These sound delicious, but those of us in the GOA can't eat dairy during Great Lent--any on e have any non dairy recipes?
Thanks,
John |
Edited by - shanmo9 on 03/11/2008 07:48:17 |
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grengliman
Senior Member
USA
1052 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2008 : 08:44:12
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Boil green lentils with garlic, carrot, celery, onion, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper until desired thickness. You can at this point puree some with an immersion blender or just let it be. Serve with a lemon wedge and hunk of whole grain bread.
Boil dried black beans with garlic, yellow onion, cumin, dark chili powder, sea salt, black and white pepper and your favorite hot sauce (I like Sriracha) until the beans are very soft. Blend about half of soup and leave half "Chunky". Top with diced bell peppers and red onions and a hunk of whole grain bread.
More to come... |
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grengliman
Senior Member
USA
1052 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2008 : 13:09:45
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With the oil restriction it can be tough to saute food, so we stick mostly to batches of soups and stews served with whole grain bread for dipping. Here is another hearty soup/stew that sits nicely in the fridge for a week or so...
Boil in 3 parts v-8 to 1 part cold water, carrot, celery, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, green onion, garlic, mushrooms, barley, crushed red peppers, thyme, oregano, basil and dill.
For me Lenten foods are simple and although sustain my physically don't give me that over stuffed feeling. I try to use the constant feeling of slight hunger to remind me throught the day of why I'm not chomping that burger and fries. |
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parascheva1014
Moderator
USA
1273 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2008 : 23:27:32
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| Perhaps you missunderstand. The intent of this thread is for things to make for Pascha, not thing for Lent. Lets start a new thread for that. |
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grengliman
Senior Member
USA
1052 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 11:24:22
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by parascheva1014[/i]
[br]Perhaps you missunderstand. The intent of this thread is for things to make for Pascha, not thing for Lent. Lets start a new thread for that.
Sorry about that. By the way that lasagna looks great! |
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Topic |
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Pascha Lasagna & any other Pascha recipes
