Asparagus and Sage Lasagna

Italian food often gets an undeserved rap for being unhealthy and heavy. It’s not completely unfounded – some restaurants enforce this belief by serving dishes like fettuccini alfredo and baked rigatoni that’s drowning in imitation cheese. The truth is the food in Italy is a world away from the processed pizza that gets delivered to your door, and when done correctly, is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world.

This lasagna dish holds close to its roots. I used all local, organic vegetables and herbs, freshly made pasta and organic cheeses from Italy. There is a good amount of diary in this recipe, but it is a far cry from the mozzarella-laden American lasagna. And, I would much rather splurge on a dish like this, made with natural whole foods, than waste the calories
mindlessly eating bad pizza or greasy french fries. One of the advantages of a diet full of unprocessed food and vegetables is that you rarely have to feel guilty about what you’re eating. I, for example, never cook regular pasta at
home. Unless I’m making it from scratch, I always use whole wheat, which I think tastes better anyway. When I do make pasta from scratch, I use local eggs and organic flour, so it doesn’t matter as much that it doesn’t have whole
grains. High-quality olive oil, minimally processed cheeses, organic vegetables, whole grains and local fish make up the majority of my diet, and it’s the reason why I can enjoy a dish like this and feel god about eating it.

On to the lasagna…

Great lasagna starts with the pasta, and making your own is a surefire start to an authentically Italian dish. I’ve tried many techniques, but the one that yields the best texture and flavor is that of Marcella Hazan. She has a rigid kneading routine and a specific method for rolling out the dough that produces a light noodle that is easy to work with.
When making noodles for lasagna with a pasta machine, roll the dough out to the last notch. This is key because when layered, the thicker noodles feel sticky and heavy, as opposed to the thinner ones that cook up light as air. This is
one of the reasons why store-bought pasta produces mediocre lasagna. I layered the noodles with béchamel, pecorino, parmeggiano-reggiano and mixture of asparagus, Maui onions, pine nuts and guanciale. If you’re not familiar with it, guanciale is Italian bacon made out of pork cheeks. It’s not as smoky as pancetta or American bacon, but it’s rich and fattier. A little goes a long way, so take care when adding it to a pasta recipe. It’s hard to find, but if you
live in the Bay Area you can grab some at the Fatted Calf stand at the Saturday Farmers’ market in Berkeley. Maui onions look like small white onions, but they’re sweeter and lack the typical sharpness. They also have a high water
content, which make them a great choice for slow cooking because they don’t turn brown as quickly. For the béchamel, I seeped organic sage in the milk for about an hour, so the sauce would carry the right amount of the pungent herb
throughout the whole dish.

Overall, I have no regrets or reservations about cooking and eating this lasagna, cheese, béchamel sauce and all. If you use substitutions like fat-free cheese or lite bacon, the overall calories may be lower, but your chemical intake will be through the roof, increasing your chances of things like heart disease, cancer and obesity. And most importantly, it won’t taste half as good.

Ingredients for Asparagus and Sage Lasagna:

1 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
2 eggs
1/2 pound of asparagus, cut on the diagonal into 2 inch pieces
1/4 pound of guanciale, cut into 1 inches pieces
3 Maui onions
1/2 cup of pine nuts, toasted
Béchamel Sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup of grated parmeggiano-reggiano
1/2 cup of grated pecorino
1/2 tablespoon of butter
3 leaves of fresh sage, chopped
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Béchamel Sauce:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 stick of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
1/2 bunch of organic sage
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Special Equipment:
Pasta Machine
Kitchen Aid Mixer

In a small saucepan, combine the sage, peppercorns and milk and put the burner on low. Heat it up until you see small bubbles along the edges. Turn the heat off and let sit for one hour. Then strain the milk and set aside. Throw out the sage and peppercorns.

The Filling:

Thinly slice the onions and add them to a sauté pan that was preheated with one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook on low for 30 minutes, stirring to ensure they don’t brown. If they start sticking, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time. The onions should be very soft when they’re done.

Add the chopped guanciale and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the toasted pine nuts, 3 leaves of chopped sage, salt and pepper. Take off the heat and set aside.

The Noodles:

Add the flour to the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer. Turn on low, and slowly add the eggs. Mix with the paddle attachment until all the flour is incorporated. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead for 8 minutes. To knead the dough, push down on it with the heel of your palm, and push out. Fold it in half, turn it clockwise, and repeat. Make sure to turn the dough in the same direction each time. Cut the dough into 6 equal parts. Clamp the pasta machine to your surface, and lay out 2 cloth towels. Set the machine to the widest setting, and roll the first piece of dough through it once. Fold it in thirds, like an envelope, and pass it through again. Repeat this process with each piece, rolling them through the machine 2-3 times each.

Set the machine to the second-widest setting, and pass each piece of dough through it once. Lay them on the towels, being careful not to overlap at all. Repeat this through all the settings of the machine, all the way to the narrowest setting. Cut each piece into 10-inch long noodles.

Set a large pot of salted water to boil, and place a bowl of cold water next to your range. Boil the noodles, five at a time, for 30 seconds. Fish the noodles out with a colander spoon, and submerge in the cold water. When cool, lay them back on the towels. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Finish the Béchamel:

Heat up the milk again until the sides are bubbling. Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat, and when completely melted, add the flour, stirring constantly. Add the milk 2 tablespoons at a time, and don’t stop stirring. When all the milk is incorporated, keep stirring until the sauce gets thick – about the consistency of heavy cream. Turn off heat.

Arrange the Lasagna:

Start with a layer of béchamel on the bottom of a 10-inch lasagna or ceramic roasting pan. Add a layer of noodles – try not to overlap the noodles too much. Cut off the edges that don’t fit. Add some of the asparagus mixture – about 1/4 cup. Top with more béchamel, and a sprinkle of pecorino and parmeggiano-reggiano. Repeat until you use up all of the asparagus mixture. On the last layer, top the noodles with the remaining béchamel and cheese. Cut up 1/2 tablespoon of butter and dot it on top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is golden. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

Kitchen Notes:

Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the béchamel so you don’t run out before you get to the top of the lasagna. Do the same with the cheese.

Since these noodles are so thin, they stick to everything. Be sure to not to let them overlap, and don’t try to boil more than  5 at one time.

Don’t overstuff each layer. There should be a very thin layer of each component between the layers of pasta.

Where I Shopped:

Asparagus, Maui onions: Old Oakland Farmers’ Market
Pecorino and Parmigiana: The Pasta Shop, Rockridge
Guanciale, organic sage: Berkeley Farmers’ Market
Pine Nuts: Monterey Market, Berkeley