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Speck and Asparagus lasagna just out of the oven

Italian Speck & Asparagus Lasagna (w/Asparagus Béchamel + Zucchini Crema)


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  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8-12 people depending on hunger level 1x

Description

This lasagna is filled with layers of pan-seared asparagus, delicate slices of Italian Speck (plus a little crispy-fried Speck for even more flavor), intensely sweet homemade tomato passata sauce, and generous helpings of fresh mozzarella, grated Grana Padano cheese, and our famously green (and tasty) asparagus béchamel. For anyone who may be new to cooking, I’ve included step-by-step recipe photos at the end of the post. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 sheets (7 ounces) spinach or plain lasagna egg noodles (200g)
  • 5 ounces fresh asparagus cleaned and trimmed (150g) *for decorating top of the lasagna
  • 7 ounces asparagus cleaned and trimmed (200g) *for layering inside lasagna
  • 3 1/2 ounces Italian Speck di Asiago sliced paper-thin (100g)
  • 2 balls (7 ounces) of fresh mozzarella, diced or hand-shredded (200g)
  • 3 ounces Grana Padano cheese, or Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (90g)
  • 1/2 recipe Asparagus Béchamel
  • 1 recipe Italian Tomato Passata Sauce or 1 recipe Classic Italian Tomato Sauce
  • zucchini crema (ingredients below)

Zucchini Crema Ingredients

  • 1 pound zucchini, diced (453g)
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (14g)
  • salt to taste


Instructions

  1. Make the tomato sauce. Make one of our linked pasta sauces, or use your favorite recipe and set aside.
  2. Make the asparagus-béchamel sauce. Make the béchamel sauce as called for, cover with sustainable cling film, and set aside.
  3. Make the zucchini crema. In a medium pot, sauté the garlic clove in the olive oil until blistered and fragrant. Add diced zucchini and cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender and slightly browned. Remove the garlic clove. Purée the mixture in the bowl of a food processor (or blender) until smooth. Remove to a bowl and set aside. *If you don’t have a blender, simply smash the mixture with the back of a fork until slightly smooth. 
  4. Cook a portion of the speck. Remove the larger fat trim from around the edges of the Speck slices and cook it over medium heat in a skillet. Add a small handful of the tough or drier meat parts of speck (the meat part) and cook along with the fat until crispy and the fat has rendered. Remove the crispy Speck to a cutting board and finely chop. *Use only a small portion of speck to fry because the rest will be layered into the lasagna (see photos below).
  5. Blanch 7 ounces of asparagus + pan-sear it (for slicing and layering into the lasagna). Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add 7 ounces (200g) of asparagus, and blanch for approximately 1 minute until asparagus has turned bright green. Using tongs, remove the blanched asparagus from the water, shake off excess water, and place them in a single layer directly into a pre-heated skillet drizzled with olive oil and cook over medium-high heat. Season with salt and sear the asparagus for 1 to 2 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Flip them over and brown the other side. When asparagus is a little crispy and nicely browned, remove them to a cutting board, and slice them into bite-sized pieces. Add the asparagus slices to the bowl with crispy fried speck and toss everything together. *Be sure to not overcook asparagus in this step (because they cook further in the oven while the lasagna bakes). 
  6. Blanch 5 ounces of asparagus (for decorating the top of the lasagna). In the same pot of boiling water, add 5 ounces (150g) of asparagus, and blanch for approximately 1 minute until it’s turned bright green. Immediately remove the asparagus from the boiling water, and drop them into a bowl of ice water for 2 minutes just until they are cooled through and no longer cooking.  Remove them from the ice water, pat dry, and slice each asparagus spear in half vertically (from top to bottom). Set aside until ready to decorate the assembled lasagna.
  7. Assemble the lasagna. Assemble the lasagna by adding a ladle of béchamel and spreading it out onto the bottom of a lasagna dish (or 9×13 inch baking dish) and start building the remaining layers as outlined below ending with the halved asparagus spears to decorate the top of the lasagna. *for step-by-step photos of lasagna assembly scroll to the end of the post.
    • tomato sauce, Grana Padano, lasagna noodles, béchamel, 1/2 of the chopped asparagus + crispy prosciutto mixture, tomato sauce, Speck, Grana Padano, mozzarella, lasagna noodles, all of the zucchini crema, tomato sauce, Grana Padano, last 1/2 of the chopped asparagus + crispy prosciutto mixture, torn pieces of speck, lasagna noodles, béchamel, tomato sauce, mozzarella, Grana Padano, end by decorating with the blanched asparagus spear halves.
  8. Bake the lasagna. Cover the lasagna tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350°F/176°C oven for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake uncovered until bubbling and golden brown on top (about 10-15 minutes more). Allow the lasagna to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. You may also turn on the broiler to brown the top, but be sure to stay and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Enjoy!

Notes

  • During baking, if you notice a pool of asparagus liquid on the top of the lasagna, don’t worry. Slightly tilt the lasagna away from you (or towards you) and allow the liquid to seep into the sides of the lasagna. You may have to do this up to two times if you’re working with large asparagus which contains more water. Continue cooking until the top of the lasagna is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned all over.

LASAGNA ASSEMBLY IN ORDER OF LAYERS

  • béchamel
  • tomato sauce
  • Grana Padano
  • lasagna noodles
  • béchamel
  • 1/2 of the chopped asparagus + crispy speck mixture
  • tomato sauce
  • Speck
  • Grana Padano
  • mozzarella
  • lasagna noodles
  • all of the zucchini crema
  • tomato sauce
  • Grana Padano
  • last half of asparagus + crispy speck mixture
  • torn pieces of Speck
  • lasagna noodles
  • béchamel
  • tomato sauce
  • mozzarella
  • Grana Padano
  • blanched asparagus spear halves
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Oven Bake
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/8
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