The thing about cooking is that sometimes we have lots of single or small quantity items in the freezer we don’t know what to do with.
Like the other day, we had frozen pork ribs, slices of threadfin fish and some vegetables and we didn’t want to waste them but couldn’t make a decent dish out of each. So, zzz decided to combine for a stew paired with the leftover lasagna sheets.
The result was great! It’s wasn’t too much of a big deal but I loved the way how zzz managed to whip up such a hearty dish out of so little things available.
Recipe (for 2)
a couple of meaty pork ribs, about 500g (we happen to have these on hand, otherwise 300g of pork shoulder will be good as well)
half a carrot, finely diced
half an onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon of tomato paste, stirred into a glass of water
lots of freshly grated parmesan
4 sheets of dried lasagna (abt 18g per sheet)
Directions
In a hot dutch oven, sear pork ribs. Remove and set aside. Deglaze pan with some wine/vermouth/stock/water. Sauté the veggies for 3-5 minutes. Add the ribs and the tomato water. Add more water to almost cover the ribs. You may add some dried herbs and spices now if you have some (bay leaf, fennel, thyme, etc). Bring to boil, cover and reduce to a bare simmer for at least 2 hours. (put it into a low heat oven if your pot allows.)
After 2 hours, check if the meat is falling off the bone. (If it is not, simmer for another half and hour) Taste and season. Add half the grated parmesan and stir. Turn off the heat.
Cook lasagna in boiling water till al dente. Assemble 2 lagsanas in a free-form manner. Top them with the remaining parmesan. Add lots of black pepper on top of the cheese, drizzle some good olive oil and serve.
eightsixtwo bakes (and cooks) 