Asparagus, spinach and porcini lasagne with hazelnut and basil

Ingredients

For the asparagus and porcini cream

200 g fresh and cleaned asparagus
300 ml filtered water
200 ml vegetable cream (I used oat cream)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
ground nutmeg, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in about 70 ml cold, filtered water
20 g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in filtered water for 30 minutes then drained and chopped

For the vegetables

200 g fresh and cleaned asparagus
200 g fresh spinach, cleaned and blanched in boiling water for about 1 minute
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut into halves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste

For the hazelnut and basil coating/filling

half a garlic clove, peeled
a handful of fresh basil, cleaned
2 handfuls of shelled hazelnuts
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons wholemeal breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

To assemble

250 g kamut or whole wheat lasagna sheets

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Blanch 200 g asparagus in boiling water for 6-7 minutes then drain and set aside. Cook the remaining 200 g asparagus until they’re tender. Drain and set aside. Pour the water, vegetable cream and olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Add the salt, nutmeg and pepper and keep cooking for a couple of minutes on a low heat. Add the cornstarch to the vegetable cream mixture and keep cooking, stirring constantly, until you reach a fairly thick texture. Remove from the heat and let cool a bit. Combine the 200 g tender asparagus and the cream in the bowl of a mixer and process until smooth. Transfer into a bowl, add the porcini, mix and set aside.
In a pan or wok over medium heat, sauté the remaining blanched asparagus and spinach with the garlic, olive oil, pepper and salt. Remove from the heat.
To make the hazelnut and basil coating, process all the ingredients together in a food processor until the mixture looks grainy. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Bring plenty filtered water to a boil, add some whole sea salt and cook the lasagne. Drain them and place them on a tray but make sure they don’t stick together. Also, be careful not to break them.
To assemble the lasagne, choose an appropriate baking pan, as you don’t want your lasagne to be too thin or too thick. Oil the bottom of the pan with a little olive oil, then spread some of the asparagus and porcini cream. Arrange the lasagna sheets lengthwise over the cream then spread the lasagne with some of the cream, top with some vegetables (asparagus and spinach) and sprinkle with a little pesto. Repeat layers, and top with remaining cream and pesto. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Take away from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Posted in: cooked,pasta,savoury,spring,vegetables

Tagged as: asparagus, basil, breadcrumbs, cornstarch, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, hazelnuts, nutmeg, nutritional yeast, pasta, pepper, porcini, spinach, vegetable cream