GFY: Sea Salt!

I referenced a recipe the other day for a BBQ rub. The recipe called for paprika, black pepper, brown sugar, yadda yadda, and sea salt. Why sea salt?

Sea salt farming. Looks shitty. 

I mean, what’s the difference between sea salt and other salts that you might already have in your kitchen? Let’s find out!

Table Salt

Extracted from natural deposits, crushed, and packaged with anti-caking agents (which are inert) and iodine (which is good). The ubiquitous condiment that’s on your table right now.

Kosher Salt

Also extracted from natural deposits, but the grains are larger. Traditionally used by kosher butchers. Chefs like to use kosher salt because the grains are bigger and easier to control. Doe not contain iodine.

Sea Salt

Made from evaporating seawater. Since the ocean contains all kinds of minerals, sea salt can also contain those minerals. BUT, because the ocean might be getting polluted, sea salt may contain some of that too – specifically heavy metals.

Table salt is fine, kosher salt is coarse, and so is sea salt – but sea salt can also be fine. Confused?

Special Salts

• Himalayan Pink Salt: Comes from Pakistan. Contains iron rust – which provides the color. Good to know.
• Flake Salt: This is a sea salt, but it’s evaporated in a way that forms the salt into flakes instead of grains. Specifically useful to top a steak – when you want the salt to dissolve into the meat. Oh, that’s the stuff…

Fleur de sel is flaky. Dandruff is also flaky.

The real difference is the price:

• Table Salt: $0.03/oz
• Kosher Salt: $0.08/oz
• Sea Salt: $0.15/oz
• Himalayan Pink Salt: $0.40/oz
• Flake Salt (Fleur de sel): $1.96/oz
• Flake Salt (Maldon): $0.67/oz

When you look-up health benefits of a kind of salt, the internet should laugh at you. Typical warnings are returned: limit salt intake if you have a condition or something. Whatever. Between salts, you’re really splitting hairs – it’s SALT!

Here’s my salt guidance:

Flake salt on a steak. Nice!

• Table salt: belongs on the table
• Kosher salt: use for cooking
• Sea salt: don’t need
• Pink salt: don’t need
• Flake salt: if you want to be all fancy with a steak, have some, but mostly I enjoy steak at a restaurant

The only reason I can see to call out “sea salt” is to signal you’re a douche bag. Congratulations! So, sea salt, go forget yourself!

 

Lasagna

Time to tweak an 8 year-old recipe that was wildly successful. Why? Because I’ve improved it, of course – that’s what I do…

Basically, it’s the same thing – just a little clarification AND one important change: drain the canned diced tomatoes. Yeah, I know – how could such a small difference warrant an entire recipe update? (checks cost to update recipes … $0) Mostly, I want to make sure my best foot is always put forward. Since my feet are equally perfect, it’s always the case.

Mmm, get some on your plate. TONIGHT!

Anyway, Lasagna
Serves an entire family

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 lb Ground Italian Sausage, mild
• 1 Cup Heavy (whipping) Cream
• 1 28 oz Can Diced Tomatoes, drained
• 1 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 32 oz Tub Ricotta Cheese
• 1 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, chopped
• 1 lb Mozzarella cheese, grated
• 12 no-boil Lasagna noodles
• Salt & Pepper

SUMMARY

1. Drain the diced tomatoes (position a strainer over the sink or a bowl, dump diced tomatoes in strainer, wait ~5 minutes, done)
2. Cook the sauce (tomatoes and meats)
3. Prepare the filling (cheese)
4. Assemble
5. Bake

INSTRUCTIONS

Sauce

1. In a large Dutch oven, or saucier, heat olive oil until shimmering (1-2 mins). Add onions and mushrooms and ~1 tsp of salt, and cook on low-medium heat until softened – about 5-6 minutes. Cook on low temperature because you don’t want to brown the onions – only soften. Adding salt to the onions and mushrooms will encourage them to soften and make this step a little easier. #smartGuy
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant – about 30 seconds.
3. Raise temperature to medium, add meats and cook until no pink remains (5 mins), BUT NO FURTHER! Reason: it’s a texture thing.
4. Add 1/2 cup of cream and simmer for 5 minutes. We want the fat from the cream, but not the water – simmering will boil that down a bit.
5. Add canned tomato products and ~1 tsp black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. If you cook with the cover off, be sure to use a splatter guard to protect your stove – this will splatter all over the place. Or use a lid.
6. Turn off the heat. You can use the sauce now, or safely store in the fridge for a few days to assemble later.

Filling (note: can be done concurrently)

1. Mix about 2/3 of the Ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup Parmesan, chopped basil, and remaining (1/2 cup) or heavy cream in a bowl.
2. Add ~1 tsp black pepper and mix until homogeneous.

Assembly

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Find a 9×13 baking dish (I like to use the disposable foil kind from Costco – you can throw it away when you’re done. Cleaning-up after lasagna is a shitty chore). Make sure it’s at least 2.5″ deep.
3. On the bottom of the pan, add ~1/2 cup of sauce. Tilt the pan so the bottom is covered.
4. Add three no-boil lasagna noodles to cover the bottom. Pro tip: for the left and right noodles, you might want to break-off the outside corners so the noodles conform to the shape of the pan.
5. Top with 1/3 of the Ricotta filling – about 3 Tbs per noodle.
6. Ladle-on 1 1/2 cups of the sauce – covering the Ricotta evenly.
7. Sprinkle 1 cup of Mozzarella over the sauce.
8. Repeat: noodles (no need to break corners this time), Ricotta, sauce, and Mozzarella.
9. Repeat again.
10. Final layer: three more noodles, the remaining sauce (should be about 2 cups remaining), the remaining Mozzarella. And add the remaining Parmesan cheese (should be 1/4 cup you didn’t use in the Ricotta filling).
11. Cover with foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (to prevent the cheese coming-up with the tin foil), and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly browned.
12. Let rest 5-10 minutes, cut, serve, and eat.

Lasagna in a disposable pan – cheese slightly browned. Beautiful.

RECIPE NOTES

• Beef AND Italian sausage? >> Yeah. Lots of Italian recipes call for “meatloaf mix” when they’re specifying ground meats. Meatloaf mix is 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground pork, and 1/3 ground veal. To me, that’s a major pain in the ass. You can sub-in the Italian sausage (ground pork) and get some extra flavors as well. Be sure to buy loose sausage from the butcher, or cut the sausage out of the link casings – don’t just throw-in some Italian sausage links and think it’s going to work.
• What’s with the heavy cream? >> The classic Bolognese sauce uses milk/cream, and they really knew their business. It almost acts as a panade and keeps the meat moist and delicious. In the Ricotta cheese, the cream keeps things moving – otherwise the cheese tends to be a little sticky.
• What’s with the no-boil noodles? That’s not how grandma makes it! >> There are two reasons: first, no-boil noodles are easier. Second, they are more consistent. If you’ve ever tried to make lasagna from regular noodles, you burn your hands on the hot pasta, rip a few, and then end-up with not enough to make a perfect dish. The no-boil work right every time. Do as I say.
• There aren’t a lot of spices, is this right? >> That’s what I thought too, but it works. Turns-out you don’t need a lot of spices for this lasagna – it’s awesomely fantastic without them. Also, the Italian sausage adds the right amount of backbone so you don’t need extra.
• Does draining the diced tomatoes really make a difference? >> Yes. I did that for the first time last night, and noticed the lasagna was tighter and tasted better. Previously, the lasagna would be a delicious disaster – cutting even slices was a fool’s errand. Now, it held-together better and the flavors were slightly intensified – in a good way. Note: I removed almost a cup of water from the 28 oz can of diced tomatoes – not insignificant.
• What if I don’t like mushrooms? >> First, grow up. Second, you can leave them out – I guess. Maybe just make some Lucky Charms.