A Taste of Spring: Fromagerie Bergeron’s Make-Ahead Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna

Soak up the sun! This lasagna will take you on an Italian journey reminiscent of warm weather and shining sun. Perfect for a dinner party, this lasagna can be prepared a day ahead and cooked just before serving. All you have to do is make a quick salad, and dinner is served!

Accompany your meal with a glass of fruity red wine such as a Beaujolais or a full-bodied rosé to bring out that spring feeling.

SAUSAGE AND ROASTED RED PEPPER LASAGNA

SERVINGS: 8

Ingredients

SAUSAGE AND ROASTED

RED PEPPER SAUCE:

• 1 jar (300 ml) roasted red peppers

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil

• 4 uncooked Italian sausages (about 400 g)

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 can (796 ml) crushed tomatoes

• 4 ml (3/4 tsp) salt

• Pinch of red pepper flakes

LASAGNA:

• Dry lasagna noodles, regular or instant

• 200 g of Le Bergeron

Classic Cheese, grated

• 1 container (300 g) ricotta cheese

• 1/2 container baby spinach (70 g)

• 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1 For the sauce: Drain the roasted red peppers. Using a stick blender, or in a stand blender or a food processor, purée the roasted red peppers. Set aside.

2 Remove the casings from the sausages and discard them. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. When the sausage meat is golden brown, add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, the roasted red pepper puree, the salt, and the red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to medium. Half cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3 If you’re using regular lasagna noodles, cook them according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4 Preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F).

5 In a food processor, combine the ricotta with half of the grated Le Bergeron Classic Cheese and the baby spinach, the basil, the salt, and the black pepper—process to a creamy consistency. Alternatively, you can finely chop the baby spinach and basil, transfer it to a bowl, then mix in the ricotta, half of the grated Le Bergeron Classic Cheese, the salt, and the black pepper.

6 Over the bottom of a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) baking dish, spread 1/4 of the sauce, then cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 of the ricotta-spinach mixture, then 1/4 of the sauce, and another layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat this last step again, then finish the lasagna with the remaining sauce and grated Le Bergeron Classic Cheese.

7 Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. Keep an eye over the lasagna after 25 minutes: if the cheese seems to be browning too quickly, cover the lasagna with foil for the remaining cooking time.

8 Remove the lasagna from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

Visit fromagesbergeron.com for more deliciously cheesy recipes.

Jamie Oliver to Tackle Cost of Living Crisis With New Series

Jamie Oliver will tackle the cost of living crisis with a new series of Jamie ’s £1 Wonders

The celebrity chef will be back on screens whipping up delicious dishes from budget recipes and offering moneysaving cooking tips in a new season of the programme.

Oliver, 47, can’t wait to cook up a storm following the success of the one-off episode, which aired in October last year.

The six-part series will see Oliver plate up cheap meals that cost less than a pound per portion.

A source told The Sun newspaper ’s TV Biz column: “Jamie is really excited by the upcoming series.

“He’ll be venturing outside of the U.K., as well as domestically, travelling to countries including Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Italy and India for ideas on cost-saving food.

“Guest cooks will be invited in too, so it will be a real collaboration.”

Oliver is notable for his initiatives surrounding affordable meals, beginning in 2005 when his show After School Dinners highlighted not only the unaffordable options available to families in the U.K., but showcased that meals were unsustainable and, at times, unhealthy.

That show led the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the U.K. to invest £240 million to keep the cost of school dinners low.

The years following the premiere of After School Dinners led Oliver on a journey towards improving the quality and cost of food, specifically for children. In 2010, he was awarded the TED Prize for championing food education and action on child health.

From 2010 to 2013, Oliver published journals and launched programs to help tackle this issue. Notably, he launched The Good Foundation to promote good health and nutrition, utilizing his Ministry of Food Programme.

Oliver has fond memories of being raised in a pub in Essex during his younger years, and admitted it was “an honour,” especially over the festive period.

He said: It was full of festivities—decorations everywhere—very jolly, very loud.

“It was a gift, an honour, to live in a pub. On Christmas Day, we’d be up early to do all the pressies, but we’d be open for business from 10 a.m.

“All the locals were like extended aunts and uncles—I was brought up by 30 women.”

Oliver believes he ended up with a talent for cooking because he practiced so much.

He said: “I was good at cooking—not because I was born to do it or a genius but because I just did it again and again.

“I had a terrible time academically at school, but I loved working at the weekend—learning to graft, learning to be tired, learning to earn a pound.”

—Reuters

Spring Into Freshness With Eggs for Any Occasion

There’s nothing better than when the days start to get longer, and we see more of the sun. Spring is in the air, and it’s the perfect time of year for celebrating everything fresh and new.

It’s a great time to brighten up your menu too. After a long winter filled with comfort food, why not lighten things up? Eggs are the perfect ingredient to satisfy your appetite, and one large egg gives you six grams of protein for only 70 calories! They also make a great grab-and-go snack for going outside in the fresh spring air.

Speaking of fresh, did you know that eggs go from the farm to the grading station to your grocery store in only four to seven days? Now that’s fresh! When you cook or bake with Ontario eggs, you know they are produced according to the same Grade A standard for quality, freshness and cleanliness. Eggs are also perfect for every occasion, but you don’t need a reason to make these cheerful Coconut Lime Cupcakes. With just the right amount of sweetness with a tang of lime, you’ll be looking for excuses to make these cupcakes!

COCONUT LIME

CUPCAKES

YIELD: 12

PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 13 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups (310 ml) all-purpose flour

• 1¼ tsp (6 ml) baking powder

• ½ tsp (2 ml) kosher salt

• ⅓ cup (75 ml) unsalted butter, softened

• ¾ cup (180 ml) granulated sugar

2 eggs

• ½ cup (125 ml) stirred canned full-fat coconut milk

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lime juice

• 1 tsp (5 ml) lime zest

• 1 tsp (5 ml) coconut extract

COCONUT WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• 1 tub (227 g) cream cheese, at room temperature

• 200 g good-quality white chocolate, melted

• ½ cup (125 ml) icing sugar

• ¼ cup (60 ml) stirred canned full-fat coconut milk

• 2 tsp (10 ml) coconut extract

• ½ tsp (2 ml) lime zest

• ½ cup (125 ml) sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

• 6 lime slices, halved

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

2 In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

3 In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time; beat in coconut milk, lime juice, lime zest and coconut extract. Stir in the flour mixture quickly until combined, being careful not to overmix.

4 Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cup liners. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups; about halfway.

5 Bake for about 11-13 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

COCONUT WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, melted white chocolate, coconut milk, icing sugar, coconut extract and lime zest, scraping bowl as necessary; beat for 1 minute, until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until thickened and spreadable, or for up to one day.

2 Frost cupcakes evenly and sprinkle the edges with toasted coconut. Garnish with a lime slice.

For this recipe and more, visit getcracking.ca/recipes