Spring Vegetable Lasagna With Herbed Cream

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups fresh zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 cup asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups fresh fennel bulbs, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup carrot, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup radicchio, finely shredded
• salt
• fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 16 ounces baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 cup dry wine
• 4 cups chicken stock or 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons minced italian parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 3 1/2 ounces goat cheese
• salt
• fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry wine
• 2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
• 1 tablespoon fennel, tops minced
• 1 teaspoon orange zest, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt
• fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 12 sheets lasagna noodles (fresh or dried)
• 10 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400°; coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• 2 in a big pot of salted, boiling water, cook the lasagna noodlesâ??10 minutes for dried or 2-3 minutes for fresh.
• 3 remove from water, rinse under cold water, drain, and set aside on paper towels to dry.
• 4 vegetable filling: melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high heat.
• 5 saute zucchini, asparagus, fennel, onion, carrot, and garlic until tender and just beginning to color, about 15 minutes.
• 6 add in mushrooms and radicchio; combine and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.
• 7 season with salt and pepper; remove from heat and transfer to a platter.
• 8 in the same skillet, heat the remaining butter and oil; add in the baby spinach, stirring to heat and wilt, about 2 minutes.
• 9 remove from heat and transfer to platter.
• 10 risotto: melt butter and olive oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat.
• 11 add in the rice, coating it with butter and oil, stirring constantly to lightly brown, about 5 minutes.
• 12 add in the wine and incorporate; cook until all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• 13 begin adding chicken stock to pan ½ cup at a time; between additions of stock, cook until it has evaporated, stirring periodically to combine.
• 14 the rice will begin to plump up and become tender.
• 15 continue this process of adding stock and cooking until all the stock has been used up.
• 16 at this time, the risotto should have almost tripled in volume and be very fluffy and tender with a creamy consistency, if not, continue to add water or stock until a creamy consistency is reached.
• 17 remove from heat and transfer it to a bowl; add in the parsley, parmigiano-reggiano, and goat cheese; stir to combine and melt cheeses.
• 18 add in salt and pepper to taste; set aside to cool.
• 19 herbed cream: melt butter in a medium-size saucepan over med-high heat.
• 20 add in flour; whisk to combine; whisk continuously, cooking flour to a golden brown color.
• 21 combine the wine and stock together in a bowl; add the liquid slowly to prevent lumps; be careful of the steam that will rise from the pan at the initial addition of the liquid.
• 22 after the addition of the wine/stock mixture, add the basil, tarragon, chives, fennel tops, and orange zest; stir to combine.
• 23 decrease heat to medium and continue cooking for about 2 minutes.
• 24 add in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper; remove from the heat.
• 25 assemble lasagna: begin with about 1 cup of herbed cream on the bottom of the baking dish; top with three sheets of noodles, then layer with half of the spinach, then half of the vegetable mixture.
• 26 top the vegetables with 1 cup herbed cream, and add one third of the mozzarella cheese; repeat with three more pasta noodles.
• 27 add all of the risotto mixture in an even layer (if the risotto appears too dry after cooling, add about ¼ cup heavy cream or milk to it to moisten it).
• 28 top the risotto with another layer of three noodles.
• 29 layer with all the remaining spinach, remaining vegetable mixture, about 1 cup herbed cream, and one third of fresh mozzarella.
• 30 top with the last three noodles, then add the remaining herbed cream, finishing with the remaining mozzarella.
• 31 bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbling and golden brown (you will probably need to pour yourself a drink at this point. to celebrate the conclusion of this labor-intensive dish).
• 32 remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.