Cary Neffs Fish Lasagna With Tea Sauce Recipes

CARY NEFF'S FISH LASAGNA WITH TEA SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the sauce, warm cup orange juice with the lobster broth. Add the tea bags and steep. Meanwhile, place all the rest of the ingredients, except the remaining i cup orange juice, the cornstarch and the salt and pepper, in a pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags from tea mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Whisk the cornstarch into the remaining orange juice to make a lumpless paste. Reduce the heat under the orange juice mixture to the lowest flame possible. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue stirring until the sauce is clear and slightly thickened. Remove sauce from heat, taste and season with salt and pepper.
• To make the lasagna, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil the lasagna noodles in salted water until tender, about 3 minutes for fresh sheets, 8 minutes for dried noodles. Combine all the cooked vegetables, season with salt and pepper, add the basil and parsley and set aside. Grill the fish over charcoal or broil.
• While the fish is cooking, cover the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch cake pan with a glaze of the tea sauce. Cover with noodles. Top with a layer of vegetables, using i of the mixture. Imagine cutting this, as you eventually will, into 4 portions. Put a heaping tablespoon of the cheese in the center of each imagined portion. Glaze lightly with more sauce.
• Keep adding layers of noodles. Spoon the sauce onto the lasagna and top with remaining cheese. Place the lasagna in the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese is barely melted. Serve topped with the fish and drizzled with the sauce.

TEA SAUCE (FOR WHITE FISH)

Steps:

• Add the tea leaves to the water and cover. Steep for 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to over-steep, as prolonged heat chemically changes the tea and can result in bitterness. If you need stronger tea flavor, use more tea, not a longer steep time.
• Strain to remove tea leaves.
• Add remaining ingredients except oil and honey. Mix well and allow to to cool on the counter. Mix again and strain to remove peppercorns, garlic, and ginger.
• Add oil and honey. Mix well.
• The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated, although the olive oil will need to come to room temperature before using.
• Use to baste grilled, baked or pan-seared fish, as well as serving as a sauce. This is a thin sauce, so be careful not to soak the finished dish. It can also be served on the side as a dipping sauce, or over a rice side dish.

LASAGNA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Meat Sauce: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add beef, sausage, onion, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat into bite-size pieces, until vegetables soften and meat has browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes more. Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor; add to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened slightly but still very loose, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cheese Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, milk, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 1/2 cups mozzarella, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Assembly: Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferably ceramic or enameled cast iron. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce (space noodles evenly; they will expand as the lasagna cooks). Spread 2 cups cheese mixture over noodles; top with 3 more noodles. Repeat layering of meat and cheese mixtures between noodles twice more. Spread 2 cups meat sauce evenly over top layer of noodles. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Loosely cover with parchment-lined foil and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until noodles are tender but still al dente (easily pierced with the tip of a knife), 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; continue baking until bubbly and puffed slightly along edges and golden brown in places on top, 20 to 25 minutes more. (There may appear to be a lot of liquid in the dish. It will be absorbed as the lasagna cools.) Transfer dish to a wire rack and let cool slightly and set, about 20 minutes; cut into squares to serve.

CARY NEFF'S CHILEAN SEA BASS IN TOMATO-FENNEL BROTH

Steps:

• Warm a pan large enough for the fish over medium heat. Spray with oil, add the minced fennel, onion and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add the Pernod. Return pan to high heat, which should ignite the Pernod. When the flame has died, or when the smell of alcohol is gone, add the wine. Add the tomatoes and tomato juice and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper. Puree in a food processor or blender, strain through a fine-mesh strainer and return to pan.
• Add the saffron, turn heat to medium low and slide in the fish. Spoon some sauce over each fillet. Cover and simmer until cooked, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Serve garnished with the sauce and topped with the fennel fronds.