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SPRING VEGETABLE LASAGNE
Serves 6 to 8

This isn’t a quick-and-easy dish to prepare. It’s what an Italian grandma would dote over for an entire Saturday leading up to a family meal.

Plan on a morning or afternoon of leisurely cooking followed by a good rest period for the cooked lasagne and you. The flavors are subtle; green vegetables are lighter stand-ins for a traditional hearty ragù.

1/2 pound lasagne noodles
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise (use a mandoline or vegetable slicer if you have one)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Vidalia or Maui onions or 6 bulb onions, sliced
1 leek, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
11/2 cups frozen green peas
11/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely sliced chives
Pinch of cayenne
2 cups Béchamel Sauce (page 242), warm
1 pounds fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/3 cup grated Fontina
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 cup grated pecorino romano
Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rapid boil. Cook the lasagne noodles until just under al dente. Drain, toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside. Place the zucchini slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Brush with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 5 minutes, or until slightly charred and much of the moisture has evaporated from the zucchini. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven heat to 350°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, leek, and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Cook the peas in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until very tender, about 30 seconds. Drain, transfer to a food processor, and process to a coarse puree. Set aside.

Combine the ricotta, lemon zest, chives, and cayenne in a small bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble the lasagne, spoon 1 1/3 cups of the béchamel sauce over the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch baking dish. Top with a layer of onethird of the lasagne noodles, then 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture, one-third of the onion-leek mixture, one-third of the pea puree, and one-third of the zucchini strips.

Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Repeat with two more layers of noodles, ricotta, onion-leek mixture, pea puree, and zucchini, seasoning each layer. Top with a layer of the mozzarella slices, then sprinkle with the grated cheeses.

Drizzle the remaining 2/3 cup béchamel sauce over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the top is browned. Let the lasagne rest for 30 minutes before serving.

To Drink: A light red, such as Merlot from Emilia- Romagna.

LAMB SHOULDER WITH PORCINI, PINE NUTS, AND CANNELLINI PUREE
Serves 4 to 6, with leftovers When off-duty chefs talk about their favorite foods or preferred cuts of meat it’s often cheeks, sweetbreads, liver, shanks, feet, and so on.

And when it comes to lamb, there’s unanimous praise for the shoulder—the flavor and richness that can be cajoled from this “poor man’s” cut amounts to culinary perfection, in some ways more satisfying and robust than the elegant rack, loin, or tenderloin.

Boning a lamb shoulder can be a great lesson in anatomy and knife skill. If you’re up for it, know that the trick is simply to follow the natural contours of the bone with a very sharp knife. I’d strongly recommend visiting a butcher and watching him perform the task first. The shoulder is actually better—and easier to slice—if prepared a day in advance. Gently reheat the sliced lamb in the reduced braising liquid before serving.

FOR THE STUFFING
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1/4 cup dried porcini, soaked in warm water until softened and chopped
11/2 cups Bread Crumbs
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves removed and chopped
1 teaspoon each chopped thyme, savory, and rosemary
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE BRAISE
One 3- to 4-pound boneless lamb shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
11/2 cups dry white wine
6 cups Chicken Stock or beef or lamb stock
Several sprigs thyme, savory, and rosemary and 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine to form a bouquet garni

1/2 pound porcini or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves (optional)
Cannellini Bean Puree with Roasted Garlic

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the porcini and toss for a few seconds.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and fold in the bread crumbs, pine nuts, chopped herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Open the lamb shoulder on a cutting board and remove any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing over the meat, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Starting from a long side, roll up and tuck the meat to enclose the stuffing.

Using kitchen twine, tie the roll into a neat, secure package—kind of like a football. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 310°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over mediumhigh heat. Add the lamb shoulder and brown it on all sides. Transfer the meat to a rack to rest.

Wipe the fat from the pot with a paper towel and return the pot to the stove. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a boil over high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the bouquet garni, and return the lamb to the pot. Bring the liquid back to a simmer, then cover with the lid and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook until the lamb is tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and the thyme leaves, if using. Set aside.

When the lamb is tender, remove it to a rack to rest.

Place the pot of braising liquid over high heat and bring to a boil, skimming all the fat from the surface. Reduce the liquid by half.

Warm the cannellini bean puree. Reheat the mushrooms; toss the whole cannellini beans from the puree recipe into the skillet with the mushrooms to warm through.

Slice the lamb into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon the puree onto warm serving plates and arrange the lamb on top of the puree. Spoon the broth over all, and garnish with the sautéed mushrooms and cannellini beans.

To Drink: Barbaresco or California Cabernet

ALMOND DACQUOISE
Serves 15

People go crazy over this sweet, crunchy almond extravagance. There are quite a few steps involved, but much of the work can be done in stages: Both the buttercream and the baked meringue can be made up to a week in advance. And you can bake the génoise a day before you’re planning to assemble the dessert. The finished cake is worth the effort—very dramatic and, quite possibly, one of the best desserts ever! It’s even better the second and third day after it’s made, and it will keep for several days in the freezer.

The cake is baked in a half sheet pan, sometimes called a jelly-roll pan; it measures 17 by 12 inches and is 1 inch deep. We build the cake in long narrow loaf pans (15 by 5 by 4 inches deep); a Pullman loaf pan or terrine mold works well.

FOR THE GÉNOISE
Nonstick cooking spray for the pan
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, softened
3/4 cup whole or low-fat milk, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

FOR THE ALMOND BUTTERCREAM
3/4 cup water
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, softened
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon amaretto

FOR THE ALMOND MERINGUE
10 ounces (3 cups) sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 large egg whites
Pinch of salt

FOR THE AMARETTO SYRUP
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons amaretto
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted (see page 255)

To make the génoise, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 17- by-12-inch baking sheet with parchment and lightly coat the paper with cooking spray.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are well combined.

Add the softened butter and mix on low speed for 20 to 30 seconds to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture should look a little lumpy, with the largest lumps being about the size of a hazelnut.

Add the milk and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute to thoroughly blend the ingredients and lighten the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for about 15 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl after the second egg, and then again at the end.

Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until it is golden brown and the top feels firm but springs back a little when pressed lightly with a finger. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Put the pan on a rack, run a table knife around the edges of the cake to release it, and let it co

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January Birmingham, Alabama

  

 
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