SPRING VEGETABLE LASAGNA WITH HERBED CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°; coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a big pot of salted, boiling water, cook the lasagna noodles-10 minutes for dried or 2-3 minutes for fresh.
• Remove from water, rinse under cold water, drain, and set aside on paper towels to dry.
• Vegetable filling: melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high heat.
• Saute zucchini, asparagus, fennel, onion, carrot, and garlic until tender and just beginning to color, about 15 minutes.
• Add in mushrooms and radicchio; combine and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper; remove from heat and transfer to a platter.
• In the same skillet, heat the remaining butter and oil; add in the baby spinach, stirring to heat and wilt, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer to platter.
• Risotto: Melt butter and olive oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat.
• Add in the rice, coating it with butter and oil, stirring constantly to lightly brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add in the wine and incorporate; cook until all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Begin adding chicken stock to pan ½ cup at a time; between additions of stock, cook until it has evaporated, stirring periodically to combine.
• The rice will begin to plump up and become tender.
• Continue this process of adding stock and cooking until all the stock has been used up.
• 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.
• Remove from heat and transfer it to a bowl; add in the parsley, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and goat cheese; stir to combine and melt cheeses.
• Add in salt and pepper to taste; set aside to cool.
• Herbed Cream: melt butter in a medium-size saucepan over med-high heat.
• Add in flour; whisk to combine; whisk continuously, cooking flour to a golden brown color.
• 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.
• After the addition of the wine/stock mixture, add the basil, tarragon, chives, fennel tops, and orange zest; stir to combine.
• Decrease heat to medium and continue cooking for about 2 minutes.
• Add in the cream and simmer for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper; remove from the heat.
• 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.
• Top the vegetables with 1 cup herbed cream, and add one third of the mozzarella cheese; repeat with three more pasta noodles.
• 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).
• Top the risotto with another layer of three noodles.
• Layer with all the remaining spinach, remaining vegetable mixture, about 1 cup herbed cream, and one third of fresh mozzarella.
• Top with the last three noodles, then add the remaining herbed cream, finishing with the remaining mozzarella.
• 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).
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.