How to make Béchamel Cream.

Ingredients

1 litre milk (or four glasses)
2 – 3 table spoonfuls of olive oil or butter*
2 – 3 table spoonfuls of flour
2 -3 eggs
1/2 cup of grated cheese (any type of grated cheese)
a pinch of ground nutmeg


Directions :

Pre-heat milk.

In a saucepan add oil or melt butter making sure it does not burn. Add flour and mix thoroughly, add salt and nutmeg.

Add the warm milk, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and creamy. If it becomes too thick add some more cold milk. Beat the eggs and add gradually, a little at a time slowly, but stirring constantly until all absorbed. Add grated cheese and stir.

*Instead of butter you may use olive oil, use low fat milk, for those who have cholesterol, use less eggs or no eggs, omit cheese!


NB : I finally found this simple recipe for making béchamel cream at last! So, best of luck to friends out there who's doing lasagna this weekends or soon.

Chocolate cake and Duck in red wine sauce.

For 6 - 8 persons

200g (1 tablette of dark Nestle chocolate)
4 eggs
150g sugar
80 g flour

200g butter

Methods :

1. Preheat oven at 200°C. Lightly grease an 18cm (7in) round cake tin or heart shaped cake tin with a little extra butter or margarine and cut a piece of greaseproof paper fit the base of the tin.

2. Melt chocolate tablette with 4 tbsp full of water in a non sticking pot on a very slow fire, or in a bowl (micro-wave resistent) in a microwave for 1 minute.

3. Add butter(melted) and mix well.

4. In a mixing bowl, add eggs and sugar, then flour.

5. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix evenly.

6. Bake for 25 minutes.



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Duck and carrots in red wine sauce.





For 4 persons.

Cooking time : 1 hr in pressure cooker

8 ducks thighs
4 carrots
1 oignons
cooking oil
Thyme and lurier leaves
2 glasses of red wine
2 glasses of cold water
4 tbsp flour
1 chicken cube
salt and pepper

Methods :

1. Mix well ducks thighs with flour in a large salade bowl.
2. Peel and clean carrots and cut into requried pieces.
3. Peel and slice oignons into small pieces.
4. Heat cooking oil in the cooker. Add in oignons and carrots together. Salt and pepper to taste. Don't forget thyme and laurier leaves bundle together with kitchen strings. Let cook for 5 minutes and mix well.
5. Add in the flour coated ducks thighs. Mix well for another 5 mins.
6. Pour in wine and water one after another. Mix well. Leave to boil a while.
7. Add in the chicken cube. Close pressure cooker and leave to cook for 1 hr on moderate fire.
8. Serve with white rice.

Lasagna

For four persons.

Ingredients :

10 pre-cooked lasagna sheets
600 g of mince meat (beef)
a bottle of fresh 'homecooked' tomatoes (not tomatoes ketchup)
60 g of béchamel cream
a packet of 200g of grated emmental cheese or parmesan
a small tsp of paprika powder
a small tsp of muscat powder (nutmeg powder)
1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil
1/2 glass of cold water
salt and pepper to taste

600 g of mince meat (beef)

methods step by step :

In a non-sticking pan, heat 1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil on a moderate fire.


Cook mince meat until turns lightly brown. Add in paprika powder, salt and pepper.


Pour in slowly the tomato sauce and mix well, let under slow fire for 10 minutes. Leave aside and let cool. And heat oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.


In the meantime grease lasgna dish with a few drops of cooking oil.


Arrange 3 sheets of pre-cooked lasagna sheets. Pinch the edges off to let sheets adapt to the dish properly.


Put a layer of mince meat and then béchamel cream evenly. (*)


Cover with another layer of lasagna sheets.


Repeat operation (*)


Recover with another layer of lasagna sheets.


Spread all rest of béchamel cream on top of the last layer of lasagna sheets.


Top with grated cheese and few drops of cold water to wet.


Lastly sprinkle muscat powder all over the grated cheese. Leave to cook in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.


Et voila !! Let warm before serving.


A piece of the delicious lasagna.


Happy trying and bon appetit !