Neapolitan Casserole Recipes

NEAPOLITAN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Saute' green pepper and onion in butter over medium heat, add beef and mushrooms and brown.
• Cook macaroni.
• Add rest of ingredients (with the exception of the two cheeses) along with Macaroni and gently mix.
• Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese/ bake in preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes.

NEAPOLITAN RAGU

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count of olive oil and gently brown the meatballs. Meanwhile, with a mortar and pestle, grind the salt, black peppercorns and fennel seeds with some olive oil into a grainy paste. Rub the ribs and shoulder with the mixture.
• Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. In the same pot, brown the shoulder pieces and ribs, in batches. Alternately to save time, roast the ribs in a preheated 500 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes while you brown the shoulder pieces in the pot.
• Remove the shoulder pieces and ribs to the meatball plate and let rest.
• Add a little more olive oil to the pot and add the thyme, oregano, carrots, onion and celery. Stir it around and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Cook the vegetables until they are slightly softened and have some nice color. Add the wine, tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Nestle the pork shoulder pieces back into the middle of the pot then arrange the ribs around the sauce. Finish by placing the meatballs in the gaps (some of the pieces will be sticking out from the sauce but that's perfectly fine as it will roast and caramelize). Use a spoon to baste everything well, cover, then put the pot into the oven and roast until the pork is tender and the meat is just falling off the rib bones, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• For the topping: Combine the chopped raisins, toasted pine nuts and parsley in a small bowl.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs and ribs to a large platter. Remove the pork shoulder pieces from the pot and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into bite-size pieces and adding them to the platter. Puree the sauce in a food processor then add it back to the pot and set over medium heat. Reduce the sauce until it is rich and thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to a medium bowl. Spoon a little sauce over the spaghetti and the remaining sauce over the platter of meat. Garnish the meat platter with the raisin mixture and serve.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but not colored, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Add the bread to a medium bowl and pour in the milk. Let the bread soak while the onions are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and cheese and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add it to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands until just mixed together. Don't overwork the mixture or the meatballs will be tough. Divide the mixture into 8 equal pieces and shape them into 8 nice looking meatballs. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

EASY NEAPOLITAN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-x-5-inch or a 8.5-x-4.5-x-2.5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine the cake mix, egg whites, oil and 1 cup water in a bowl using an electric mixer, mixing until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among 3 bowls. Leave the first bowl plain. To the second bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix well. To the third bowl, add the freeze-dried strawberries and food coloring to achieve your desired color.
• Using an ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops of chocolate mix into the loaf pan in different areas. Follow with 2 scoops of strawberry mix and 2 scoops of vanilla. Repeat until all the batter is used and the cake has a marbled appearance. Place in the oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
• While the cake bakes, make the ganache. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a low heat until just simmering. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, then pour the cream over the chips and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack (not inverted) and let cool.
• Pour the ganache over the cake, letting any excess drip down the sides.

NEAPOLITAN SHEET CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. In small bowl, place 1 1/4 cups of the batter; stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa until blended. In another small bowl, place 1 1/4 cups of the batter; stir in 2 tablespoons strawberry jam and 1/4 teaspoon food color until blended. Pour remaining cake batter in bottom of pan. Drop tablespoons of each colored batter in random pattern over top; pull table knife through batter to make swirls.
• Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In large bowl, beat softened butter with electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. On low speed, gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk and the vanilla. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
• In small bowl, place 1/4 cup of the vanilla frosting; stir in 1 teaspoon strawberry jam until blended. Stir in food color until desired color. In another small bowl, place 3 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting; stir in 1 teaspoon cocoa until blended. Spread remaining vanilla frosting on top of cake. Randomly drop measuring teaspoonfuls of strawberry and chocolate frosting over top. Use small icing spatula to swirl frosting over top of cake. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

NEAPOLITAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Score an "x" in the bottom of each tomato. place tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, carefully remove tomatoes and plunge into an ice bath. The tomato skin will peel off easily.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in several batches, place tomatoes in the boiling water for 1 minute. Carefully remove and plunge into an ice bath. Transfer to a work surface and remove skins.
• Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned and fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add tomatoes, crushing each one by hand. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until sauce starts to thicken, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Stir in fresh basil and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

NEAPOLITAN TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 20cm square baking tin and line with two criss-crossed, overlapping strips of baking parchment (this will help you remove the traybake later). Put the strawberries in a food processor or mini chopper and blitz to a purée. Tip into a small saucepan and simmer for 3 mins until slightly reduced. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl using an electric whisk (or do this in a stand mixer) for 4-5 mins until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour and baking powder.
• Divide the cake batter between three bowls, weighing for accuracy, if you like. Mix the cocoa and 2 tbsp milk into the first bowl until smooth and combined. Mix the cooled strawberry purée and a drop of pink food colouring into the second bowl, and stir the remaining milk into the last bowl.
• Drop alternating spoonfuls of the three batters into the prepared tin until all three have been used up (an ice cream scoop is useful for this). Try not to mix the colours together, but spread each blob out slightly using the back of the spoon. It's easiest to use three separate spoons to prevent colours mixing, or rinse the spoon before moving to a different coloured batter.
• Bake for 30-35 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Next, make the topping. Whisk the cream and icing sugar together to soft peaks - it should be thick and spreadable. Spoon the topping into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, if you like. Or, you can spoon on the topping.
• Cut the cooled sponge into 16 even squares, then pipe or spoon a dollop of the topping over each. Decorate each square with a chocolate flake before serving.

NEAPOLITAN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and lightly flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan, or spray with baking spray with flour.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour about 1 2/3 cups batter into pan.
• Into small bowl, pour 1 1/3 cups batter; stir in almond extract and food color. Carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan. Stir chocolate syrup into remaining batter. Carefully pour chocolate batter over pink batter.
• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted 1 1/2 inches from side of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate; remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on High about 15 seconds or until frosting can be stirred smooth and is thin enough to drizzle. Spread over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Store loosely covered.