You don’t want to miss this episode… Patti’s 90 year-old Grandma, Mrs. Angie Fiasco, is back! This time she’s cooking up a delicious trio of dishes: a rich and meaty homemade tomato sauce, a unique lasagna made with polenta instead of noodles, and a big Italian potato salad. You’re going to love it!
In case you missed it, be sure to watch our first episode with Grandma Fiasco, where she makes homemade pasta fagioli soup and here meatless meatballs.
Grandma Fiasco’s Lasagna with Polenta
Instead of noodles, this lasagna is made with slabs of cooked polenta.
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 cups room temperature water
- 6 cups boiling water
- Grandma's Sauce (see recipe)
- 1 lb ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- 3 large eggs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place cornmeal into a bowl and mix with 2 cups room temperature water. Stir to dissolve. Pour dissolved cornmeal into 6 cups boiling water in saucepan on medium heat and stir to blend. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside. Should thicken and cool for about 5 minutes. When set, cut polenta in half.
- In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, eggs and salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside.
- In another 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spoon a layer of Grandma's Sauce and spread evenly over bottom of dish. Place a layer of polenta on sauce. Evenly spoon ricotta cheese filling over polenta. Spoon more sauce over cheese layer and hen top with remaining polenta layer. Cover with sauce, sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and then mozzarella cheese.
- Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!
Grandma Fiasco’s Meaty Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs country pork ribs
- 1 cup sliced pepperoni
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (29 oz)
- 1/2 can water
- 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, over medium high heat, place olive oil and heat until hot. Add pork ribs and pepperoni and cook until meat gets well-browned. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
- To the drippings in pan, add basil, oregano and cloves. Let cook slightly and add tomato paste and cook until oil is absorbed. Add crushed tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Mix well. Turn heat to medium and add browned meat to sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for at least 2 hours. To serve, place meat on serving plate. Use sauce for pasta or lasagna. Makes about 1-1/2 to 2 quarts. Enjoy!
Grandma Fiasco’s Italian Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 lbs red potatoes, preferably small in size
- 1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 carton grape tomatoes
- 1 can pitted black olives, drained well (16 oz)
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Place potatoes, unpeeled, into a deep saucepan and cover completely with water. Place over high heat and cook until potatoes are just fork tender. Drain and allow potatoes to cool. If larger potatoes are used, cut into bite-sized chunks. Lightly salt and pepper warm potatoes.
- Place a large saucepan filled with water on high heat and bring to a boil. Carefully place green beans into the boiling water and allow to cook about 5 minutes. Immediately remove beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
- In a large salad bowl, combine potatoes, green beans, sliced onion, grape tomatoes, black olives and salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, basil and oregano and additional salt and pepper and mix well with whisk. Pour over vegetables and mix to blend and coat. Chill until serving. Makes 12 servings. Enjoy!
Transcript
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