Spring Lasagna With Carrots, Peas, and Asparagus

• Tomato and Vegetable Sauce
• unsalted butter↗3 tablespoons
• olive oil↗2 tablespoons
• onions↗2

  medium, chopped

• garlic cloves↗4

  minced

• whole tomatoes↗1

  (28 ounce) can, snipped to pieces in the can with kitchen shears

• frozen peas and carrots1

  (16 ounce) bag, thawed

• fresh thyme↗2 tablespoons

  chopped

• salt↗1 teaspoon
• fresh ground black pepper↗1⁄2 teaspoon
• grated nutmeg↗1⁄2 teaspoon
• Cheese Filling
• ricotta cheese↗32 ounces

  (regular or lowfat, do not use fat free)

• large eggs↗2

  at room temperature

• lemon zest1⁄2 teaspoon

  finely grated

• Noodles
• no-boil lasagna noodles↗9
• lb pencil-thin asparagus spear↗1

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°.

2. 2

   Make the sauce: heat a large pan over medium heat, add in butter and olive oil; when butter has almost melted, add the onion; cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes.

3. 3

   Add in garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 15 seconds.

4. 4

   Pour in the tomatoes and their juice along with the peas and carrots; stir well and bring mixture to a simmer.

5. 5

   Stir in the thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; simmer just to blend the flavors and boil off a lot of the liquid, about 10 minutes.

6. 6

   You don’t want sauce as thick as ragu—more like a loose tomato sauce but beware of a watery sauce.

7. 7

   Remove pan from heat and set aside.

8. 8

   Cheese filling: whisk the ricotta, eggs, and lemon zest in a big bowl; do not beat—the ricotta should not turn watery.

9. 9

   Prepare asparagus: trim off any beige or woody ends; shave off the outer skin to ensure that the spears will be tender after they are baked.

10. 10

    If you asparagus is not pencil thin, shave down the spears with a vegetable peeler.

11. 11

    Assemble the lasagna in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan as follows: 1 cup tomato sauce spread across the bottom of the pan; 3 no-boil noodles; 1 ½ cups tomato sauce; half the cheese filling (use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly); half the asparagus spears (lay them tip to root in alternating directions); 3 more no-boil noodles; 1 ½ cups tomato sauce, the remaining cheese filling, the remaining asparagus spears, the remaining noodles, and finally the remaining tomato sauce.

12. 12

    Cover pan with a layer of parchment paper, then a layer of foil.

13. 13

    Bake for 35 minutes, then uncover the pan and continue baking until bubbling and gooey, about 10 minutes.

14. 14

    Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.