LASAGNA VERDE RECIPES

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Steam the spinach in a steamer or over boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess moisture and process in a food processor to make a paste. Combine spinach with eggs, semolina, and salt and process until smooth. Stir in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough. Knead briefly, cover and set aside.
• For the ragu: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute bacon, carrot, celery and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in ground pork, ground beef and minced ham, and cook until browned. Stir in tomato paste, oregano and beef stock. (Reserve the chicken livers for later.) Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• For the bechamel: While the ragu is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
• To cook pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. On a floured surface, divide pasta dough into three portions. Roll each portion out to a thin sheet. Have ready an ice water bath. Cook each sheet 3 minutes in the boiling water; remove from the boiling water and dip in the ice water; drain and dry on a clean, dry cloth.
• To finish the ragu: Stir the chicken livers into the simmering sauce. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• To assemble lasagna: Place one pasta sheet in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread one-third of the ragu, one-quarter of the bechamel, one-third of the ricotta, and one-quarter of the parmesan over the pasta. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bechamel and parmesan and dot with butter.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl combine cashews and enough boiling water to cover. Let stand, covered, 20 minutes; drain. Rinse and drain again. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. While noodles are boiling, use tongs to plunge chard into pasta water about 2 minutes or until wilted. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined tray to drain. The last 2 minutes of cooking pasta, add asparagus and peas. Drain noodles and vegetables. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Separate noodles, asparagus, and peas.
• In a large skillet cook mushrooms over medium 3 to 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
• For sauce, in a small saucepan whisk together milk and flour until smooth. Cook and stir over medium just until bubbly. In a blender combine soaked cashews, milk mixture, and the next five ingredients (through nutmeg). Cover and pulse several times to combine. Blend about 3 minutes or until very smooth.
• To assemble, spread 2 Tbsp. sauce over bottom of a 2-qt. square baking dish. Arrange two of the cooked noodles over sauce, cutting to fit. Layer with ? cup of the sauce, the peas, and half of the mushrooms. Arrange two more noodles over top. Top with ? cup sauce, the chard, and the remaining mushrooms. Arrange the remaining noodles on top. Top with the remaining sauce and arrange asparagus spears diagonally over noodles, cutting as needed to fit. Sprinkle with green onions. Cover with nonstick foil.
• Bake about 30 minutes or until center is hot (165°F). Before serving, sprinkle with basil. If desired, serve with lemon wedges.