New Mom Asparagus Pesto Lasagna with Chicken
Why is this new mom lasagna? Because it's great comfort food. Because it doesn't have a lot of irritants that go into milk (no garlic, no onions, very little cow dairy) yet it's flavorful. It has carbs, protein, and green veggies, all of which are delicious after the effort of birth. Take it to your friend with a big salad with a mild vinaigrette, and Mark Bittman's delicious Orange Almond Cake (from How to Cook Everything ) and your friend will love you even more.
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
2 T walnuts or pine nuts
2 T parmesan cheese (grated) or more to taste
pinch salt
pinch freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup best EV olive oil
5 T butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 t nutmeg
5 oz goat cheese (the kind that comes in a log shape--half of one of the long logs) (optional)
1 lb. lasagna noodles, preferably fresh, definitely no boil
1 1/2 lbs. medium fresh asparagus, boiled for one minute and then removed to cold water to stop cooking, then drained on paper towels
2 or 3 full boneless chicken breasts, poached in boiling salted water until just cooked, 8 minutes or so, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup breadcrumbs (fresh, not from a can)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Make pesto by combining basil, nuts, cheese and salt in the bowl of a food processor and processing until very finely chopped. Add olive oil in a thin stream with the motor running and process until smooth and emulsified.
Make veloute: Heat chicken stock to a simmer and hold. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add hot stock, one-half to one cup at a time, whisking to blend and allowing to thicken between additions. After all the stock has been incorporated, the sauce should be thick, like heavy, heavy whipping cream. Remove from heat and stir in pesto. If you're using the goat cheese (which is delicious, and adds a nice tanginess) crumble it into the hot sauce and stir until it's incorporated.
Now assemble the lasagna in a buttered or oiled pan (I like to make it in three small pans, and freeze one or two--or give two to the new parents, and keep one for our dinner.)
Put 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of each pan, followed by noodle or noodles to cover. Add two or three stalks of asparagus (you want two or three asparagus layers per lasagna, so calculate accordingly), another quarter cup of sauce, another noodle layer, sauce, then chicken. Continue layering until you've used it all up, ending with a noodle topped with sauce.
Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and bake uncovered for 20- 25 minutes. You can partially bake and then reheat, or just freeze the whole thing before baking, then defrost and bake as directed. You don't want to overcook, or the asparagus gets too limp.
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