Butter cookies
250g butter, 100g cornstarch, 210g all purpose flour, 88g icing sugar, 2g salt.
Bring butter to room temperature. Combine everything with a food processor. Pipe. Bake 15min, 180degC.
Double Chocolate Cookies
250g butter, 250g sugar, 2 eggs, 365g all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 30g cocoa powder, 210g chocolate callets.
Brown the butter, transfer to mixing bowl and cool. Measure and mix flour, baking soda and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Add sugar to brown butter. Whisk. Add eggs. Whisk. Add flour mixture. Whisk. Add chocolate. Mix. Chill 1 hour.
Shape into 1-in balls. Flatten slightly. Bake 9min, 180degC.
Cheesecake
Crust: 12 digestive cookies crumbled, 40g butter. Mix. Press into 8 inch cake tin with removable base. Chill.
500g cream cheese, 3 eggs, 150g sugar, 150g Greek yogurt, juice from 1/2 a lemon. Mix at medium to high speed. Pour into cake tin. Wrap side and bottom of tin with film and aluminum foil. Bake in a water bath 180 degC 40min. Remove from oven.
For slightly burnt top, turn the oven to maximum temperature and top grill setting. When hot, return the cake into the oven and keep a close eye. Rotate if necessary. Brown/burn to your liking, remove from oven.
Brownies
85g butter, 225g dark chocolate, 125g sugar, 2 eggs, 35g all purpose flour, 5g cocoa powder, spices/tea/coffee powder (optional), 80g chopped walnuts.
Melt butter, add chocolate. Whisk by hand. Remove from heat, whisk in sugar and eggs. Add flour and cocoa powder. WHISK VIGOROUSLY FOR AT LEAST A MINUTE. The texture should change from grainy to smooth. Add walnuts and stir to combine.
Scrape batter into 8 inch square tin. Level and smoothen the top. Bake 170degC 23 min.
Lagsana
The day before, make the ragu. 600g pork from leg (twee bak) skin on, cut into large chunks. 2 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 400g canned tomatoes, wine, bay leaf, oregano, spices, salt, pepper.
Season and brown the pork. Set aside. Saute diced onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Add wine, deglaze. Add tomatoes, herbs, pork and juices. Add enough water to just cover pork. Low simmer for 3 hours. Cool 3 hours. Pull the meat apart. Chop skin or mash with fork. Chill.
Pasta: 2 eggs, 100g tipo 00 flour, 100g semolina flour. Make a flour well, add eggs in center. Beat eggs with fork and bring flour in gradually. Use hand and dough scraper to bring dough together. Knead till smooth (5-10min). Rest 1 hr.
Bechamel: 50g butter, 50g flour , 800ml milk. Melt butter, add flour, whisk to make roux. Add milk gradually, whisk and simmer until good consistency.
Grate 100g parmesan.
Roll pasta to thin sheets. Cut to large rectangles. Cook in boiling salted water. Remove and cool in cold water.
In a deep baking tin (~9in ×11in), layer ragu, pasta sheet, and bechamel until pasta is used up (about 5 layers of pasta). Top with ragu, bechamel and lots of Parmesan cheese. Bake 180degC for 20min. Turn to maximum temperature and top grill to brown cheese while keeping a close eye.
42 Pasta 