Portuguese Canadian Bakery

Right now I have a mother and daughter staying with me from Brazil. In an attempt to find food for them that would remind them of home, I googled Portuguese food in Edmonton. Two postings came up: Portuguese Canadian Bakery on 5304 -118 Ave and Nata Portuguese Bakery on 15115 Stony Plain Road. So off we went to the Portuguese Canadian Bakery. It is a bakery, coffee shop, small deli and a dry goods grocery store. We arrived at 1600 hours and they had sold most of their baking. No one was sitting in the cafe area. Suzanne one of the two workers behind the counter spoke Portuguese. She conversed easily and freely with my guests. She recommended that we go to Fatima's to buy fruits and vegetables and noted that the store was owned by a Brazilian woman.

I asked Suzanne what the bakery was famous for and she quickly said the Portuguese buns. I bought six white flour dusted buns for $1.25. They were light, fine grained and the kind of bun that plays a supporting role in the drama and not the main character. It is inviting and I had the urge to pile cheese, cold cuts and pickles into the bun. The bun is large and would be perfect as a dinner roll if the main course was a stew. Then again it would also make the perfect sandwich.

Thirty Three Minute Lasagna

I saw the demonstration of this dish on a Cooks' Illustrated cooking DVD and just had to make it. It looked so cheerful and welcoming. Most cooking shows do not give you the exact recipe or will only give correct amounts for part of the recipe. This way they are not responsible for your failures when you muck up the ingredients and since most celebrities want to publish a cook book, they do not give away the recipes in the potential book. Tonight I had a Brazilian mother and daughter over for dinner and made lasagna. They gladly accepted the leftovers. Hint: I buy plastic containers just to give left overs away or meals away. They are not expensive and are like gift wrap. Everyday lasagna takes a great deal of time but not this dish.

2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp oil
1 pound of extra lean ground beef
28 oz. can of diced or crushed tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
8 lengths of broad lasagna noodles
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz ricotta cheese
fresh basil leaves (or flat parsley leaves if basil is not available).

Chop and fry the onions and garlic till transparent in the oil. Add a little salt to this mixture to release the moisture. Add the beef and break up. Just cook till the pink disappears, no need to brown. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce,herbs,more salt if needed and pepper. I did not have any red pepper flakes but if I had them, I would add a shake or two. Break up the lasagna noodles into 2 inch squares or what ever shape they take. Lay them on top of the tomato/meat mixture. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 20 minutes on low heat. When I checked the noodles after 20 minutes they were still to firm so I cooked them for 3 more minutes. Dab the ricotta using two tablespoons over the top of the dish. Place the lid back on the pot and cook for 5 more minutes to soften and warm the cheese. Roll the basil into tubes and slice. Sprinkle on top. That it is. A simple dish that has all the flavour of the classic lasagna with one quarter of the work and time.