Spring Lasagna With Carrots Peas And Asparagus Recipes

ASPARAGUS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and cut noodles in half crosswise.
• Melt margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic just until fragrant. Stir in the flour until no lumps remain. Gradually mix in milk, and season with thyme. Simmer sauce gently until thick. Remove from heat.
• Grease a 9x9 inch glass baking dish. Layer noodles, sauce, asparagus, ham, and mozzarella cheese in three layers, each starting with noodles, and ending with shredded cheese on the top.
• Cover the dish, and cook in the microwave on HIGH for 9 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Time may vary depending on the oven used. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SPRING LASAGNA WITH CARROTS, PEAS, AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°.
• Make the sauce: heat a large pan over medium heat, add in butter and olive oil; when butter has almost melted, add the onion; cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Add in garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 15 seconds.
• Pour in the tomatoes and their juice along with the peas and carrots; stir well and bring mixture to a simmer.
• Stir in the thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; simmer just to blend the flavors and boil off a lot of the liquid, about 10 minutes.
• You don't want sauce as thick as ragu-more like a loose tomato sauce but beware of a watery sauce.
• Remove pan from heat and set aside.
• Cheese filling: whisk the ricotta, eggs, and lemon zest in a big bowl; do not beat-the ricotta should not turn watery.
• Prepare asparagus: trim off any beige or woody ends; shave off the outer skin to ensure that the spears will be tender after they are baked.
• If you asparagus is not pencil thin, shave down the spears with a vegetable peeler.
• Assemble the lasagna in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan as follows: 1 cup tomato sauce spread across the bottom of the pan; 3 no-boil noodles; 1 ½ cups tomato sauce; half the cheese filling (use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly); half the asparagus spears (lay them tip to root in alternating directions); 3 more no-boil noodles; 1 ½ cups tomato sauce, the remaining cheese filling, the remaining asparagus spears, the remaining noodles, and finally the remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover pan with a layer of parchment paper, then a layer of foil.
• Bake for 35 minutes, then uncover the pan and continue baking until bubbling and gooey, about 10 minutes.
• Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

SPRING: PEA, CARROT, AND CHIVE RISOTTO

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the peas and carrots and boil for 2 minutes (if using frozen peas, then just cook the carrots). Strain the vegetables through a fine-mesh sieve and cool under cold running water. Set aside.
• Add the cooked peas and carrots and the chives to the risotto when you add the butter and Parmesan.

FREEZE-AHEAD LASAGNA PRIMAVERA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add flour and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes (do not let flour mixture darken); whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add spinach, peas, and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper.
• In the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of vegetable sauce. Layer noodles, half the remaining vegetable sauce, another noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the mozzarella, and half the Parmesan; repeat.
• Cover dish with lightly oiled aluminum foil, and place on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes, uncover, and bake until bubbling and browned, about 20 minutes more. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

PASTA PRIMAVERA WITH ASPARAGUS AND PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
• While the water is coming to a boil, slice snap peas and asparagus stems into 1/4-inch-thick pieces; leave asparagus tips whole.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add snap peas, asparagus, English peas and onion. Cook until vegetables are barely tender (but not too soft or mushy), 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Drop pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente (1 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta, more for dried pasta). Drain well and transfer pasta to a large bowl. Immediately toss pasta with vegetables, Parmigiano-Reggiano, crème fraîche and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper, if needed.

SPRING PASTA BOLOGNESE WITH LAMB AND PEAS

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add lamb, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth, heavy cream and rosemary, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, partly covered and stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened, about 30 minutes. (The sauce may look broken at first, but it will emulsify as it cooks.) Discard the rosemary sprig.
• As the sauce cooks, make the pasta: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
• Over medium heat, add the peas and spinach to the sauce and stir until spinach is wilted. Add the cooked pasta, butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the sauce. Toss vigorously until sauce is thickened and coats the pasta, about 2 minutes, adding more pasta water if a looser sauce is desired. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta among bowls. Garnish with more cheese, parsley and black pepper.