Hundreds of cookbooks offer variations of the “freelancer special” but the Big New York City Life Cookbook offers two of my preferred recipes. I’ve adapted them to suit my personal taste, and to the best of my kitchen’s ability.
1
PREPARATION
The original recipe was written in 2008, by a recent college graduate. She suggests preheating your oven to 350º F and getting a job at a coffee shop . “Don’t work five days a week” she wisely advises, or you might burn out. Get to know the regulars and befriend the special ones, chances are they’ve worked in coffee shops before and know you’re more than just a good barrista. Since this is a difficult recipe to master, you’ll want all the advice and extra hands you can get. But be conscious of that old adage, “too many cooks spoil the soup” and keep your eyes on every pot or it will quickly turn into someone else’s dinner party.
The second recipe was published in 2009, by an ex-expat who accidentally returned to America. Luckily, she acquired an exciting knowledge of Mediterranean cuisine. She, determined to improve upon the original recipe, added some ingredients that make the dish more colorful and interesting. Even before preheating the oven, boil your strongest skills in an unpaid internship for three months (no more, no less) and then quickly throw them into an ice bath to preserve their color. This technique is called blanching and the result will be your Moxie. The final dish is much improved when using Moxie.
2
SEASONING
Next, the recent college graduate suggests you infuse your cafe gig with other odd jobs. With more cash, contacts, and skills you can buy fresher vegetables and nicer olive oils. You can invest in a salt collection. Be mindful of the time spent on each burner, however. Make sure you have enough of everything and that it all cooks evenly.
The expat insists that you read as much as possible, for nothing is as nourishing as a good book. She says, “a well written sentence sustains you when nothing else can.” Internships often lead to more internships which means you’re making less dough, so after kneading, while it rises, pick up a good book and avoid anxiety. A good cook is a confident cook.
3
MIXING
Here, the recipes start to look similar: mix up everything you’ve done and start writing. Let some dough rise, discard what you no longer need, make a reduction of your most fruitful activities, get yourself a dutch oven. Scrape off the fears and anxieties from the surface of your stew, and make sure you’ve added enough salt. You will want the final product to taste like freedom. There will be some days when you have loads of time, which means you’ll get to stir and season the pot nicely. Other weeks will go by when you won’t have a second to yourself, but this is okay too, because the sauce will thicken and get much stronger. When you’re finally ready for baking, your experiences will be nicely aged and melt beautifully over your Moxie.
4
BAKING AND ASSEMBLING
An opportunity will come along that will offer both freedom and immense responsibility. Approach this slowly and with close attention to both the tasks required of you, as well as the remarkable talents of those you now know. You have a great deal to learn. And, like any really delicious recipe, while you make “the Freelancer Special” you understand that there is still a long way to go.
RED AND GREEN LASAGNA BOLOGNESE
(special thanks to Mario Batali)
After you’ve left the ragu to cook on the stove, you can start preparing your SPINACH NOODLES:
First you need to blanch 1 cup of fresh spinach leaves in a pot of salted, boiling water, for about 30 seconds. Then take the spinach out of the water and place in an ice bath for a few minutes. Once cooled, squeeze out all excess water and then chop as finely as you can. Prepare a mound of flour (about 3 cups all purpose) and make a well in the center. Then mix the spinach with five eggs which you will pour into the well. Using a fork, or your fingers, incorporate the flour into the egg mixture by scraping and stirring the sides of the well. Once it starts to come together, just knead the dough as you would any other. If you don’t incorporate all the dough, that’s fine, you’ll keep dusting it later. Knead for about ten minutes and then leave to rise for half an hour. While kneading, if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface, just sprinkle it a generous amount of flour. The dough will be speckled green.
While your pasta dough sits, you can prepare the BESCIAMELLA:
First heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt five tablespoons of unsalted butter and then add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. Stir well. What you’ve just made is called a roux. Stir constantly for about 6 – 7 minutes, or until the roux is a light golden brown. In a separate pot, heat 3 cups of whole milk to just below a boil. Once both pots done, pour in the milk, about a cup at a time, into the roux mixture. Whisk constantly, and bring to a boil each time, until you’ve added all the milk. Then let it cook for about ten minutes until the sauce is thick, but still liquid. Then season with 2 teaspoons sea salt, or fleur-de-sel, and 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg. Let sit in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two hours.
Now that you’ve made the ragu, the besciamella, and the pasta dough, its time to ROLL OUT THE NOODLES:
(*note– you may want some extra hands for this if you’ve never done it before)
Mario Batali introduced me to this method of rolling the dough, which I now follow because the noodles come out more firm, which is important considering how thin they are. First, divide your dough into eight equal sections. Keep the sections you haven’t gotten to under the plastic wrap to keep from drying. Turn your pasta wheel to the first setting. Dust your dough (made into a burger shape) with flour, and roll through setting one. Then fold it into thirds (like an envelope) and roll through setting one five more times (folding after each roll). Then, turn to setting two and repeat the process of folding and rolling six times. On setting three, fold and roll three times. For each following setting (my machine has 9), only go through once. Let the rolled out dough rest on a floured surface for ten minutes.
If you’re a normal person, using a normal lasagna dish (rectangle), you may cut your noodles into five inch squares. I used an oval shape, which means I cut a stencil out of construction paper, to fit the inside of the dish, and made large oval sheets. You may make a lasagna out of any shape dish you want! Next time, I’ll try making individual size servings out of small gratin dishes.
You’re going to blanch the noodles in hot and then icy water for no longer than 2 minutes. The noodles will cook more in the oven, especially with the liquid from the ragu. Dry the cooked pasta with a dish towel, and assemble as you go.
layer 1 –> ragu
layer 2–> grated parmigiana cheese
layer 3 –> noodle
layer 4–> besciamalla
Repeat as many layers as you can. The beauty of this recipe is that the noodles are so thin you will have many layers, so you don’t need to do such a heavy layer of any sauce. The final layer should be a generous layer of besciamella and parmisiana which will brown in the oven. Cook at 375º for about 45 minutes, until slightly brown and bubbling. It’s the best lasagna you’ve ever had.
(*Note – the recent college graduate points out that after six months your health insurance will run out. She suggests you start running every day and join your neighborhood YMCA. The expat agrees, but encourages joining the Freelancers Union.
