Roasted Asparagus Lasagna

By lapadia • March 14, 2011 • 6 Comments

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Author Notes: This is a “must have” recipe as soon as the Asparagus is ready for harvest! Originally adapted from Gourmet a few years back, I have been adding my own touches ever since - such as using a ricotta filling and its whey to make the sauce, as well as adding roasted red pepper - a great flavor combo. I love using no boil lasagna noodles for this recipe, fyi, some packages say to wet these noodles down before working with them…but I found that just letting the dish sit refrigerated for at least an hour after assembling gives the dry noodle enough moisture before baking. - lapadia

Serves 9 - (8 x 8 baking dish)

1 pound asparagus, trimmed, tips cut off and reserved
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cup infused ricotta whey (recipe onsite) or **see below
**Or you could substitute 1 cup vegetable stock plus 1/4 cup water in place of the whey
4 ounces mild goat cheese
1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley – finely chopped
Fresh grated zest from one lemon
1/2 cup micro-plane grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup extra for garnish
8 Mozzarella sheets
6 (7 by 6 1/4-inch) sheets instant (no-boil) lasagna

ROAST ASPARAGUS: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the tips off the asparagus stalks and reserve for topping the lasagna. Coat a roasting pan with olive oil, add the asparagus stalks - toss to coat all sides. Roast for 10 minutes. Cool and cut into bite size pieces.
Combine the ricotta cheese, parsley, lemon zest and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese – set aside until needed.
In a saucepan melt the butter, add the flour, stir and cook the roux over a moderately low heat for 3 minutes.
Add the whey (or vegetable broth/water mixture) to the roux in a stream, whisking. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Add the goat cheese and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth – pepper to taste, I don’t add salt because all the cheese is usually enough. Note: This sauce will be used for 3 layers.
Arrange 2 sheets of pasta in an oiled 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the pasta sheets and top with 3/4 cup ricotta mixture. Top the ricotta with 1/2 of the roasted asparagus stalks and finish with 4 mozzarella sheets.
Add a second layer of the same - 2 pasta sheets, 1/3 portion sauce, the rest of the ricotta, rest of the asparagus stalks and 4 mozzarella sheets.
Layer on the last 2 sheets of the pasta, add the remaining sauce and arrange the reserved asparagus tips over the top.
Let the assembled dish sit covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Garnish with 1/4 cup parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Let it stand for 20 minutes before serving.
Optional - an extra scatter of shredded mozzarella on top, before baking, too!