Spring Vegetable Lasagna With Herbed Cream

Posted by request; very different.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Vegetable Filling

• 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

• Risotto Filling

• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  cup arborio rice
• 1  cup dry white 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

• Herbed Cream

• 4  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4  tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup dry white 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

• To Assemble

• 12  sheets  lasagna noodles (fresh or dried)
• 10  ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Directions

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 noodles—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.