Artichoke And Yellow Squash Lasagna With Bechamel Sauce Recipes

ARTICHOKE AND YELLOW SQUASH LASAGNA WITH BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350º.
• Sauté squash, onions, garlic in 2 tbs olive oil.
• Drain and chop the artichokes.
• Beat the egg in a small bowl.
• Reserve ½ cup of the Italian cheese blend.
• Combine ½ cup cheese, herbs, salt, and pepper and blend in the egg.
• Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil.
• Melt the 3 tbs butter in a saucepan with olive oil, and stir in flour to make a roux.
• Slowly add cream, stirring constantly, and add a dash of ground nutmeg.
• Pour ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom of pan, and lay sheets of dry lasagna on top of the sauce.
• Layer the sheets with 1/5 of the cheese mixture and 1/5 of the squash mixture.
• Repeat until you make five layers, topped by lasagna sheets, then press down slightly on the lasagna.
• Pour the rest of the béchamel sauce over the top, making certain it completely covers the top and runs down the sides.
• Cover the pan with a tent of aluminum foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes in the oven.
• Remove the lasagna and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of it, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Cut the lasagna it into serving pieces and place them on plates, garnishing them with the minced parsley.

ARTICHOKE AND CRUDITES LASAGNA

Steps:

• Bring water to boil for lasagna.
• Dice all vegetables but the carrots into 1/2-inch pieces; dice the carrots into 1/4-inch pieces. Saute carrots and the onion in hot oil in a nonstick pan for about five minutes; add the remaining vegetables, with the artichokes and garlic, and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir often. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the lasagna according to package directions; rinse under cold water, and drain.
• Mix chopped basil with ricotta.
• Make the bechamel sauce.
• To assemble the lasagna: Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of bechamel sauce; top with a single layer of lasagna noodles. Sprinkle with half the vegetables and top them with dabs of half of the ricotta-basil mixture; sprinkle with a third of the Reggiano. Then add another layer of lasagna, half of the remaining bechamel sauce, the remaining vegetables, the remaining ricotta and half of the remaining Reggiano. Top with the last layer of lasagna, then the last of the bechamel and sprinkle with the last Reggiano. Cover and refrigerate or freeze for as long as a month. To serve, defrost, if frozen; remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking; preheat the oven to 375 degrees; bake the lasagna for about 45 minutes, or until it is brown and bubbly.

BECHAMEL SAUCE FOR ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS AU GRATIN

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute shallots in butter over medium heat until translucent, without browning, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Mix; reduce heat as much as possible.
• Add flour in thirds, whisking constantly. When fully incorporated, cook without browning, 3 to 5 minutes, until floury taste is gone.
• Add milk in thirds, whisking constantly. Texture should be thick with no lumps. Add bay leaf; continue to cook 7 to 10 minutes.
• Strain through a sieve; add cheese while bechamel is still hot. Adjust seasoning to taste. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of sauce, and refrigerate up to three days.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle squash halves with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast squashes, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet until tender and browned, about 1 hour. Let cool. Scoop flesh from skins, and puree in a food processor until smooth.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook until browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Combine 3 cups squash puree, 1 cup Parmesan, 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons amaretti cookies, sage, browned butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Adjust seasoning as desired with more Parmesan, amaretti cookies, sage, salt, and nutmeg.
• Make the bechamel: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Reduce heat to low, and cook, whisking often, for 3 minutes (do not let flour brown).
• Meanwhile, bring milk to a gentle simmer in another small saucepan over low heat. Gradually whisk hot milk into the roux, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg. Raise heat to medium, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and cook until the raw flour taste is gone, 5 to 10 minutes more. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Assemble the lasagna: Coat bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of bechamel (about 1/2 cup). Arrange two 8-by-21-inch sheets cooked pasta on top, barely overlapping, to cover bottom and sides of dish. (Edges of pasta should hang over sides by about 2 inches.)
• Top with 3/4 cup squash filling, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon amaretti cookies. Top with 1 sheet of pasta (fill in any gaps with pieces of another sheet if needed), trimming edges as needed so that pasta fits neatly in dish.
• Top pasta with 3/4 cup bechamel and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Continue layering in same order (pasta, squash and amaretti, pasta, bechamel and Parmesan) until you reach the top of the dish, ending with 1 sheet of pasta (you may need to fill in gaps with pieces of another sheet; you should have 10 layers of pasta). Fold in the overhang from the first layer of pasta to create a package. Trim pasta sheets as needed to prevent too much overlap, then spread remaining bechamel over top.
• Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, for 20 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake until top is browned, about 35 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.

SPINACH-ARTICHOKE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil a kettle of water (an electric kettle works great here).
• Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the olive oil and artichoke hearts and cook, stirring occasionally, until the artichoke hearts fall apart, become jammy and start to brown at the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and stir until considerably wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and return the saucepan to the stove (no need to wash it out).
• Make the béchamel sauce: In the saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Still whisking constantly, slowly add the half-and-half. Raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, then immediately reduce the heat to continue simmering, now whisking occasionally, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of gravy, 10 to 20 minutes. Season generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Add half of the béchamel to the bowl with the artichokes. Stir to combine and cool slightly, for about 15 minutes. While the mixture cools, place the lasagna noodles in a large high-sided pan or dish, pour over the recently boiled water from the kettle and let soak until the noodles are softened but not soggy, about 15 minutes. Add the cottage cheese, Parmesan and egg to the artichoke mixture, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Assemble the lasagna: In an 8-inch square baking pan or dish, add enough béchamel to thinly coat the bottom. Put down a single layer of lasagna noodles, about 3 noodles, letting the ends rise up the edges of the pan. Spread half of the artichoke mixture evenly over the noodles. Turn the pan 90 degrees and put down another layer of lasagna noodles, again pressing the ends up against the edges of the pan. Spread half of the béchamel evenly over the noodles. Repeat these layers once more with the remaining lasagna noodles, artichoke mixture and béchamel, ending with the béchamel. Evenly sprinkle the mozzarella on top. (At this point, you can cover the lasagna and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours if not baking right away.)
• Bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbling at the edges (especially in the corners of the pan), and the mozzarella and the exposed ends of the noodles are golden brown and crispy, 15 to 20 minutes. (Add more time if baking directly from the refrigerator.) Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing so that slices won't collapse when transferred to plates.

LASAGNA WITH ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH AND BéCHAMEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut the squash into big chunks, brush the exposed flesh with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes or until squash is tender enough to be pierced through to the skin with a paring knife. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can handle it, then cut away the skin and cut in thin slices. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees
• While the squash is in the oven, make the béchamel. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until it has softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw flour taste. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Strain while hot into a large measuring cup or a medium bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon of the sage
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a rectangular baking dish. Spread a spoonful of béchamel over the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread a thin layer of the béchamel over the noodles. Top with half the squash. Season the squash with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with béchamel and Parmesan. Sprinkle the remaining sage over the top. Make sure the noodles are well coated with béchamel so they will soften during baking
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Uncover and, if you wish, bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the top begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving