Spinach and Portabello Lasagna

1-16 oz box Notta Pasta Fettuccine
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lb baby portabellos, sliced
1 lb spinach, rinsed, stemmed & roughly chopped
1-12 oz jar roasted red peppers in water, drained and julienned
1-15 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 cups low fat spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb part skim milk mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375°F . Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Boil Notta Pasta for 2 minutes. Drain. Shock in cold water to stop cooking action and drain again. Immediately toss with olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a large nonstick pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
Add mushrooms. Sauté, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to soften. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the spinach, stirring just to wilt down. Drain any liquid from pan. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, beat the ricotta cheese, egg whites, salt, nutmeg and parmesan cheese until well mixed. Set aside.
Add 1/2 of the Notta Pasta to the baking dish. Layer: 2 cups of sauce, spinach/mushroom mixture, red peppers, ricotta cheese spread, remaining Notta Pasta, spreading to make sure there are no gaps, remaining 2 cups of sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Evenly sprinkle top with mozzarella. Bake 20 minutes more. Let lasagna rest 10 minutes before cutting.

serves 9 as entree, 12-16 as a side dish

www.nottapasta.com ( with permission)

Spinach Goat Cheese Lasagna

Sauce:
3 (14 oz) Cans Chopped Italian Tomatoes
3 Cloves Garlic Minced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Pasta Dough:
3 Cups Unbleached Flour
4 Large Eggs
Pinch of Salt

Other Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) Bag Fresh Spinach
1 (6 oz) log Goat Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Grated Mozzarella
1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

To make the pasta, mound your flour on a large pastry board, or the counter with the salt, and make a well in the center. Break the eggs into this well, and start to scramble each egg with a fork as it is being added. Start to incorporate the eggs and flour by slowly bringing more flour in from the inside edges of the well. Continue adding the flour to the eggs until they are no longer runny. Using your hands now, bring the outside edges in, forming a large mass on your board. Use only the amount of flour needed to form a soft ball.

Begin to knead the ball of dough as you would bread, pushing it down with the heel of your hand. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and satiny, for about 5 to 7 minutes. Wrap the prepared dough in plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Use a pasta roller or roll by hand to make long sheets of pasta 1/4 thick. I use my Kitchen Aide table mixer with the pasta attachment and roll my pasta to the third last position or to number 6 on the dial. After rolling, cut into 12 inch long strips. Precook in boiling water for 30 seconds, then place in ice water. Dry and set aside on clean kitchen towels.

To make the sauce, cook the garlic in the oil until it is tender. Finally add the tomatoes, basil and seasonings. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes until thickened.

Cook the spinach by either steaming it or by using the microwave. Allow to cool and squeeze to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Coarsely chop.

To assemble the lasagna, add about 1/2 cup of sauce to the bottom of a large lasagna pan. Add a little water and mix. Make an overlapping layer of the noodles across the bottom of the pan. Spread a large spoonful of sauce on top, making sure the noodles are well covered. Take about a quarter of the spinach and layer on top of the sauce. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top. Add the next layer of noodles, then sauce, then break up some goat cheese on top. Sprinkle with some of the parmesan cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, alternating spinach and goat cheese layers. Spoon enough sauce to cover the top, and then sprinkle on the last of the parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Drop small dollops of the goat cheese to finish. Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If the lasagna was refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature before baking. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil topping and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the lasagna is bubbling. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Serves 6
By Deborah Mele, Italian Food Forever <!---->

www.italianfoodforever

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Classic Lasagna

For The Tomato Sauce:
2 lb lg tomates, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
10 Sprigs Italian parsley leaves
8 basil leaves
2 Tab.extra virgin olive oil
4 Tab. butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano
For the Bechamel:
6 Tab.butter
4 Tab. flour
4 cup milk, heated
Salt and Freshly ground pepper
1/2 teas. ground nutmeg

For the Assembly:
1 box lasagna noodles
2 Tab. extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4cups grated Grana Padano, plus extra
butter for greasing
Basil sprigs for garnish

Courtesy of Giuliano Bugialli

Prepare the tomato sauce: In a pot over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, parsley, basil and olive oil. Cover and cook for 1 1/2hours without stirring, shaking the pot occasionally to prevent the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom. Pass the mixture through a food mill into a separate pot over medium heat. Add the butter, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 15 min. or until smooth and thick. Set aside to cool. Stir in the egg yolks and Grana and set the sauce aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the bechamel: In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter.Add the flour and cook, stirring until the flour is completely incorporated into the butter, ab. 4 min. Whisk in the warm milk and cook, stirring until sauce is thick and creamy, ab. 10 min. Season with salt, pepper and mutemeg, cover and ser aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil Add salt and the lasagna noodles and cook until al dente. Drain the noodels run under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread them out on clean, damp dishtowels. Preheat the oven to 375º. Place a layer oflasagnanoodles to cover the bottom a lightly buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the noodles with 1/4 cup of the grated Grana and cover with 1/3 of the bechamel. make another layer of the pasta, spinkle with another 1/4 cup of the Grana Padano and cover with 4 heaping Tab. of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layering process 2 more times and finish with an additional layer of the bechamel on top.

Transfer the lasagna to the oven and bake for ab. 15 min.or until golden. Remove from the oven, cut into squares and serve with more grated Grana and a sprig of basil.

Serves 8-10

                      
                       Asparagus Goat Cheese Lasagna

   4             pounds  asparagus -- trimmed
  2        tablespoons  olive oil
                        Six 7 by 6 1/4-inch sheets of instant -- (no boil) lasagna
  3        tablespoons  butter
     1/4           cup  allpurpose flour
  1 1/2           cups  chicken broth
     1/2           cup  water
  7             ounces  mild goat cheese such as Montrachet
  1           teaspoon  freshly grated lemon zest -- or to taste
                        Salt
  1 1/2           cups  freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 500 degrees.  Cut the tips off asparagus spears and reserve them.  Cut remaining spears into 1/2inch pieces and place in a large baking pan toss the with the oil.  Roast them, shaking the pans every few minutes, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tendercrisp.  Sprinkle the asparagus with salt to taste and let cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan melt the butter, add the flour, and cook over moderate low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes.  Add the broth and the water in a stream, whisking, and cook until the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.  Blend in the goat cheese, zest and salt to taste, until the sauce is smooth.

Spray the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9inch baking dish and arrange 2 sheets of lasagna in the bottom; spread with 1/3 of the sauce.  Top the sauce with half of the roasted asparagus and sprinkle it with 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Top with two more sheets of pasta and repeat layering ending with a top layer of pasta.

Arrange the reserved asparagus tips on the top of pasta, spoon on the remaining sauce and then the remaining Parmesan cheese.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer or until is golden and bubbling.  Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings