Lidia's Kitchen

LIDIA

Buon giorno. I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion. I want to taste it. Assaggiare. It has always been about cooking together... Hello....but it is also about reminiscing, reflecting, and reconnecting through food.

ERMINIA

Mmm. Delicious.

LIDIA

For me, food is about family and comfort. Whatever you're making, always remember, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

ANNOUNCER

Funding provided by... At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen. Cento -- Trust your family with our family. Authentic and original -- Amarena Fabbri. A taste of Italy for brunch with family and friends. Amarena Fabbri -- the original wild cherries in syrup. Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary. For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional handcrafted Provolone, made in Italy. Rovagnati Gran Biscotto, a true Italian ham. Crudo o cotto? Gran Biscotto. And by...

LIDIA

As a teenager, I took my first home economics class here in New York, and that reaffirmed my passion, my love for food, for cooking. There were a lot of new foods to be explored, and I wanted to get to taste them all. Made with fresh pasta, this lasagna is one that I remember fondly from my early days in New York City when I was first introduced to Italian-American food. A great way to make a main dish out of a vegetable is to fill it with a satisfying mixture of cheesy, herbed bread. We ended up settling in Astoria, and everybody was quite happy. It was full of Italian immigrants like us -- Italians, Greeks, some Germans. And what was great about it, whether you walked down Broadway or Steinway, the stores reflected the culture. So there were Italian delis. We could get our prosciutto, we could get our ricotta, we could get our pasta. There was an Istrian club where my father found his friends and he could go play bocce. My mother was -- again, found friends, shopping, talking. She ended ultimately working in Walken's Bakery. So it was a real comfortable place that was America but was part of our culture as well. Let's begin with the marinara sauce, because otherwise you go nowhere without sauce. So a nice big pot, some oil, sliced garlic. Let that just get some color here. I have plum tomatoes. Going to put a little bit of peperoncino just to spice things up. Let's throw in the crushed tomatoes. Bit of salt. And we let it simmer away. Marinara doesn't take that long. It takes about 20 minutes and it is done. Let's make the stuffing for the lasagna. And you can fill your lasagna with many different things and sausages and spinach and bacon and ham and prosciutto. But I like it the simplest way. Ricotta. Good ricotta, fresh. You let it drain, even overnight. You put it in a sieve overnight in the refrigerator, and next day you make the filling. A bit of eggs. Bit of salt. Parsley. And this is the grated cheese, and that will bind the whole thing together. And now we go to the pasta. This you can make in advance. You let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, then you pull it out a little bit at room temperature and let it rest. Just like that. Okay. Let's stretch it out first like this. And it's always a good thing that you begin with the widest because you want to mix it up a little bit. This is kind of working the dough. And you want it as wide as you can. So here we have. Okay. What I would do is that I would cut it in half, and then I want to make all four pieces the same width. Okay. Put flour, make sure that they don't stick to each other. And stretch these pieces further. And for a lasagna, you don't want a thick dough, of course. You want it to be nice and thin. And you see how it stretches out. I am going to cut it like this, and you layer right here on a kitchen towel. And you'll keep on rolling. So here we are. Going to mix the sauce a little bit here. I'm going to finish rolling out the pasta, and then we'll come back and we'll assemble it all together. In Astoria, where we found our home, they registered me in Junior High School 204 in seventh grade. It was interesting. One of the classes they gave me was home economics, and I loved it, you know? I felt comfortable in there. But the teachings were somewhat different. I specifically recall this kind of hors d'oeuvre, snacks, if you will. And the one that's still in my mind is where the teacher took four slices of the American bread, cut off the crusts on all four sides, smothered the one side with some mayo, then took green olives with pimento in there, and then she began rolling it. And of course, the bread kind of stuck to each other because of the mayo. And she wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. A few hours later, she takes them out and she sliced them like this. They were cocktail hors d'oeuvres. And they were pretty good. And they were interesting, and I was amazed. I said, "Gee, I can do this." And I went home and I did it for the family. But it always remained in my mind from my home ec class in that junior high school. So we're ready to cook the pasta and assemble the lasagna. And you kind of let it slide in nice and gently like this. And give it a swirl because you don't want it to stick in there. So let it dance around. Number two. When it begins to kind of change color, then it's just about cooked. So let's pull up one and put it right in here. Open it up right away. There we go. You don't want to break it. You know, handle it as gently as you can. Stretch it out. Okay, stretch it out. Let it chill. Let's go on to the next batch. So let that cook. And you have another tray with a moist towel. We fish them out, and now we want to dry them. Just like that. Again. Okay. So you see these are thin, nice and light, and yet very resilient. This is it. We have cooked the pasta. So now we go to assembling the lasagna. The marinara has been done. A little bit of sauce, and line the bottom. So what I'm going to do is put pasta on the bottom. And I think that I'd like the longest on the bottom because I want it to overlap. Let me put this one and then just a little bit of sauce in between like that. And let me cut these because now I want them to overlap that way. That's it. There you go. Now, sauce. You put the stuffing. And let's put half on the bottom and half of the next layer. Some of the grated cheese. Sliced mozzarella. Makes a nice layer. A little bit more of the sauce. And one layer. I'm going to patch up all of the lasagna here. A little bit more sauce. The rest of the filling all in here. Spread it evenly like that. Grated cheese again. The sliced mozzarella. And now we have a lot of sliced mozzarella underneath. We don't have to make this one as dense. Salsa. Top it just... And like that. I like a little bit more of sauce, a little bit more of the cheese. And now I have to make my package. So I flip these over that are on the side. It's broken or not, it really makes no difference. And you have like a little package here. It's nice sealed in so that you don't have the sauce and everything coming off the side. I will put a little bit more of the grated cheese because I want to make the crust nice. The next step is, of course, that you take a foil paper, cover it like this, and you put it in a 375 preheated oven for about 45 minutes. It's going to bubble, and it's going to cook inside, and the ricotta is going to set. Then you take off the foil and you let it cook for another half an hour to 45 minutes until it's nice and crisp and solid. Then you let it rest a little bit, and then you get into it. My mother making me in charge -- or the cook, the chef of the family -- really gave me the courage, I guess, to be who I am today. I felt in charge, and I felt that I could take liberties. And I began to combining what my mother left, the instruction that she left, what I learned from Zia Nina. Put a little extra spice of this, some spices that I never knew. There I was in the kitchen trying new things. And I guess the making of a young chef. What a rich plate! I'm going to dive in. And so I am. And I think if you're going to plate it, a little sauce is always good. Just in the center. Okay. Serrated knife is always a good idea. Kind of... And yes, you need a spatula. Mmm. Okay, here it comes. Ahh! Voil. Mamma mia. Che lasagna, eh? You know, I wanted to serve it to you so fast, so it is a little spreading out, but that doesn't make it any less delicious. And I have a little bit here for myself. Oh, my God. I have the best part here for myself. Never mind. Oh, fili di telefono. "Telephone wires." Mmm-mmm. So let me. So delicious. And it's simple, you know? You feel the basil, the tomato, the ricotta, and then the pasta. Mmm, che buono. I'm going to wait for the rest. And when I serve it to my family, it'll have set. Oh, Lorenzo's calling me again. I'm excited! Ciao, Lorenzo!

LORENZO

Ciao, Nonna. How are you?

LIDIA

Okay, what's up? What you are cooking?

LORENZO

Actually, right now, this is funny. So I was in my kitchen, right, and I just saw some escarole that was lying around. And I thought, you know, "What would Nonna do if she were here?"

LIDIA

Good thinking!

Laughs

LORENZO

And I actually thought of your cabbage mashed potatoes, or your Swiss chard mashed potatoes. So I had to use that instead. You know, chopped it and smothered it in a little bit of olive oil, boil the potatoes. Some peperoncino, salt.

LIDIA

You know, in our family, whether you do Swiss chard with mashed potatoes, whether you do string beans with garlic and mashed potatoes, it's sort of a family tradition. My grandmother used to do it. It was a way of extending the precious vegetables with potatoes. So the recipe is simple. You put the potatoes to boil, and then when they're halfway done, almost finished, you add whatever vegetables to the boiling water, and then you drain it all, and garlic and oil, and you kind of rocky mash it. Is that what you did with the escarole?

LORENZO

Exactly.

LIDIA

So, Lorenzo, how did it turn out? It turned out perfectly. I mean, I think your Swiss chard mashed potatoes are pretty much unbeatable, but it was a pretty good replacement. Good thinking! I'm so proud of you that, you know, kind of I see myself little bit in you. So those years that we kind of spent together in the kitchen, a lot stayed with you. I'm so proud of you. Now, you know, escarole is a great vegetable. It's a winter vegetable. It's in the chicory family, but it's year-round. It has multiple uses. You know, the outside leaves, the toughest leaves, are great, I guess, to use for something like this, you know, where you smother them and braise them. I use them for soup. And the inner white leaves, the tender leaves, I usually wash them and save them and make a salad. And while we're on the potato subject, the inner escarole leaves with boiled potatoes, separately -- you know, the leaves fresh, the potatoes boiled -- you toss them together into a salad with oil and vinegar. So, you know, there's a lot to be done with one head of escarole. I am so proud of you, and continue cooking your vegetables and enjoying in grandma style.

LORENZO

I will. Of course.

LIDIA

All right, Lorenzo. Grazie.

Speaking Italian

LIDIA

Thank you for calling me.

LORENZO

Ah!

Speaks Italian

Ciao. LORENZO

Ciao.

LIDIA

That was great. As children, as they were small, they were always around my kitchen. And, you know, even if they didn't get directly involved, there's always something that they pick up. And you see this transition of my Swiss chard and potato to escarole and potato is brilliant! Bravo, Lorenzo. Italians love their vegetables, and they love stuffing them. And any vegetables will do. Whatever it's in season, whatever you have, more or less you follow this recipe. So here we begin with eggplant. And I want to make two vessels for the stuffing itself. This is a regular measuring spoon, 1 teaspoon, and I'm going to fish out the mealy part, kind of create a little container, if you will. The inside of the eggplant, I'm just going to chop it up and add it to the stuffing. Then I'm going to go to the peppers. The peppers are easy. They're like a little boat. Just kind of cut that out, and you leave the stem, could be nice. It sort of seals it and makes it look like a little vessel, if you will. And we'll do the zucchini. But let's cut it this way so I get a better visual of the containers. One, two. I think like this. And you don't have to dig too deep because, you know, the vegetables, when they cook, they sort of mellow out, Let's clean the onions like that. That will be a vessel. And dig this out. Okay, so here I have day-old bread, and I have soaked it in a stock. We need to kind of now get all the extra water out, and you kind of crumble. You crumble the bread. It's really kind of the feel element in cooking. Okay, so here we are. We have all the bread done. Then continue with the stuffing. The eggplant, the little pieces of eggplant. we're going to utilize. That's it. Eggs. Eggs, of course, are always the binder of a stuffing. Just like that. Scallions. Some chopped thyme to give it this kind of herbal feel. Parsley. Lots of parsley. Lots of grated cheese. And for a real kind of good flavor, cheesy flavor -- provolone. And kind of shredded just like that. Mm. Okay, let's give it a good mix. I'm going to put a little bit of salt. Not too much. Just like that. Ground pepper. Okay. Now let me get the vegetables ready. And the vegetables, salt. And a little bit of oil just to kind of dress them. A baking pan like this. So we'll begin with the eggplant and don't overstuff it. Just like that. What my thought is here, that the vegetables that take longer to cook, I'm going to put together on the same baking pan so that if I have to cook them a little longer, at least they're together. The onions, you know, the onions do take a while to bake. And as you notice, I go in lightly. I don't stuff them. I may put them in the middle. The peppers. These peppers are so delicious. They're sweet. Another zucchini goes...here. I am just going to finish this stuffing up here, cover it with foil paper, put it in a hot 400-degree oven for about 20, 25 minutes. You uncover it and cook it for another 30 minutes until it's nice and crisp. Everybody a little bit of cheese just like that. Shredded provolone on top. Mm-mmm. All set. Good to the last drop. Wash my hands, I'll tent them, put them in the oven. And, you know, I love serving them hot, if you will, right out of the oven for a meal. It's great. But I love them also at room temperature. Why not? Respecting food and not wasting is something that, you know, I learned at an early age. Bread is one of those things that you can recycle in a thousand of ways. You know, bread crumbs stuffings, baked clams, breaded cutlets, and so on. But, you know, when you have a lot of those vegetables, they're in season, they're beautiful, stuffing them with some bread, some herbs, maybe a little bit of meat, yes or no, could be a great way of feeling I've used it all and it is delicious. The stuffed vegetables are done. So I'm looking at this, and I think I'm going to follow the plate, maybe make a frame out of the most colorful ones, and then the center I will stuff with the most plentiful ones. So... So this is the time for you to be the artiste, the creative, you know? So now I have these beautiful, colorful ones. How do you like that? And let's put it here. Make sure we put -- yes, an onion between the eggplant. That looks nice. Another eggplant right here. Let's start on that side. An eggplant, an onion, eggplant. Maybe an eggplant for Lidia. You know what I'm going to do? I want to taste an onion, too. So I'm going to swap. An onion for Lidia. So let me taste. Let's start with the eggplant. Piece of eggplant. Mmm. Soft, tender, sweet. And it's really mellow and delightful. So I'm going to finish this plate, but certainly there's enough for all of us and I want to invite you -- Tutti a tavola a mangiare. Andiamo. So, Grandma, when you worked in New Jersey and you came home late, I was the chef of the house, I was the cook.

ERMINIA

You was my only baby girl what I have in the house, and the only one who I think you can help me. And I told to her, "I will go after work. I will take work, and I want to go into school. I need the job, the day work. And you will do the dinner for us." And I tell you what to cook. I bought it for you, I prepared for you, like a flour, a sugar, and anything what you need. And you were so smart. You were reading already on the boxes, and you was making even every night, not only dinner but the even the --

Cake. ERMINIA

Cake.

LIDIA

I was fascinated by those cake mixes.

ERMINIA

You was only 12 that time.

LIDIA

You remember. Yeah.

ERMINIA

You start to prepare for us good dinner almost every night, and every night was different cake. Every night we have anything we desire. It was always different and it was your invention.

LIDIA

Well, with your help.

Speaking Italian

LIDIA

Oh, "You can see the day from the sunrise." That's an old saying.

ERMINIA

And I saw that you will be a good cook, good mother, and good friend.

ANNOUNCER

The food from this series is all about reflecting and reconnecting. The recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbooks, "Felidia: Recipes from My Flagship Restaurant," a collection of restaurant-inspired dishes for the home cook, available for $35; "Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine" is available for $40; and "Lidia's Celebrate Like an Italian" is available for $35. To purchase any of these cookbooks or order additional products, call 800-PLAY-PBS or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia. To learn more about Lidia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques and much more, visit us online at lidiasitaly.com. Follow Lidia on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @lidiabastianich.

LIDIA

I'll drink to that.

Chuckles

Me too. LIDIA

Ethan! What are you looking for? Something to eat? You're next.

Singing in Italian

LIDIA

The camera's in front of her, and she comes to life.

WOMAN

Whoo-hoo! That was so good.

LIDIA

Tell those guys to get out of there. I don't want to cover it. Come on, bee. Okay. And then let's make them together, okay? It's a deal?

JULIA

Yeah.

LIDIA

Ready?

MAN

Feel that energy there.

LIDIA

Come and join us. So I'm gonna have another bite...

ANNOUNCER

Funding provided by... At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen. Cento -- Trust your family with our family. Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition yet contemporary. And by... Olitalia, "From chef to chef." Closed captioning provided by San Benedetto. "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.