pasta doria gratin
Doria gratin is a Japanese creation. Found in restaurants in Japan that serve western food, it is their interpretation of what Westerners eat. It basically is baked rice that is baked with a white sauce and cheese. It's extremely popular and if you go to grocery stores that sell Japanese food, they have lots of packages of pre-made white sauce that you can use to create your own doria at home. Most of them look like the packages of Japanese style curry.
A while ago, I found a white sauce from Heinz Japan at a grocery store here that sells Japanese items (CitySuper to be exact). A small box of three individual packages to make a single serving of doria for one. I was curious .... would it be as good as the ones usually sold? The one good thing about this product is that they are designed for a single serving. Great for dinners for one! Unlike the others usually found which are more geared for whole families and thus I always end up with a lot of leftovers. Of course, you may say I can make my own sauce. But what about those days when I come home from work and don't want to put much effort for dinner? This is what I'll do here. Another day I'll show a recipe where I do make the white sauce from scratch. But not today. Today, I'm just plain lazy.
I did pasta instead of rice as it's usually served. Mostly due to the fact I wanted pasta. But you can substitute with cooked rice if you want. This is a very flexible recipe and great for make the most out of leftovers.
Ingredients
3/4 cup of macaroni pasta (I happen to have star shaped ones)
1 package of Heinz Japan white sauce
some pancetta
frozen mixed vegetables
diced onion
4 tbsp of Panko
grated Parmesan
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Cook your pasta according to directions on the package.
2. In a heat proof plate, put in pancetta, frozen mixed vegetables and diced onion. How much is dependent of how much you eat.
3. When your pasta is done, drain and add it to the heat proof plate. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the white sauce on top. Mix everything to combine.
5. In another bowl, combine Panko, as much grated Parmesan as your heart desires and a dash of Italian seasoning.
6. Add the topping on top of the pasta. I had some left over mozzarella slices, so I threw that on top, too. I add a bit more Italian seasoning on top as well.
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for half an hour or until you see the cheese melt and the everything gets this lovely golden brown color. It's then ready to eat!
