5-Cheese Crab Lasagna with Roasted Garlic and Vegetables

This creamy, gooey, gorgeous white lasagna will impress your special
guests and loved ones. Mild, but with many subtle flavors, it makes for
elegant comfort food. Though the recipe appears long, it breaks down into
easy steps and can be prepared for baking the day before. Prep time
includes roasting times (when you can be doing something else). Those who
dislike ricotta may not mind it here, as it dissolves into the sauce.

3 heads garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup dry white wine, plus
2 teaspoons dry white wine, divided
2 bunches fresh asparagus (30-40 spears)
cooking spray (such as Pam)
garlic salt
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste,divided
3 red bell peppers (sweet)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, divided
8 ounces dry lasagna noodles
8 roma tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese mix, plus
2 tablespoons grated parmesan-romano cheese mix, divided
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely minced sweet onions (such as Vidalia)
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
1/2 lb whole milk ricotta cheese
3/4-1 lb canned white crab meat, flaked
1/2 lemon, juice of
1/2 lb roped provolone cheese (if unavailable, substitute any soft, mild
white cheese)
1/2 lb havarti with dill
1/2 lb fontina
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

12 servings


4 hours 5 minutes 3 hrs 20 mins prep

Roast Garlic: Place oven rack on second notch (about 6 inches from heating
element). Turn oven to 375 degrees F. Cut tops off of the heads of
garlic and discard excess skin. Place garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil
and drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over the tops. Fold up edges of foil and add
2 tsp white wine to the bottom. Seal packet tightly and place in oven.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until garlic is tender when pierced. Open packet
carefully to let cool and set aside (and enjoy the glorious aroma!).

Roast Asparagus: Turn up heat to 400 degrees F. Holding at the end,
gently bend each asparagus spear and snap off where it gives naturally.
Discard ends (or save for soup). Pare leaves from stalks, leaving the
tips intact. Soak asparagus in cold water for 10 minutes. Spray two
cookie sheets (preferably with rims) with cooking spray. Rinse asparagus
twice and drain. Blot dry with paper towels. Place in a large bowl.
Drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil over asparagus, then sprinkle with garlic salt
and pepper. Toss to coat. Remove asparagus, letting excess oil drip back
into the bowl, and arrange on cookie sheets. Set bowl aside. Roast
asparagus 8 minutes or until bright green and crisp-tender. Let cool
slightly, then remove asparagus to a plate, cover lightly with foil and
set aside.

Roast Peppers: Turn on broiler. Cut peppers in half vertically through
the stems. Rinse and remove seeds, stems and soft white inner parts.
Blot dry with a paper towel. Place peppers on one of the previously used
cookie sheets, cut-side down. Broil 5 minutes. Turn the cookie sheet
around 360 degrees and broil another 5-7 minutes or until the pepper skins
are about 3/4 blackened. Turn off broiler. Remove peppers to a second
bowl and cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Let rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the lasagna noodles
(follow package directions).
After 10 minutes, or when peppers are cool enough to touch, peel off skins
with your fingers.
Cut peppers into strips and place in the bowl with the leftover olive
oil=2E
Add 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil to the bowl.
Toss pepper strips to coat, then remove to a plate, allowing excess oil to
drip back into the bowl.
Cover lightly with foil and set aside.
There should be a little olive oil and basil left in the bowl; set bowl
aside.

Cook Noodles: When water is boiling, add noodles and cook according to
package directions. Lay out two sheets of aluminum foil (about the size
of cookie sheets) on counter or table top. Spray foil with cooking spray.
When noodles are done, drain, then remove with tongs and lay out on foil
sheets side by side but not touching. Spray tops of noodles with cooking
spray. Set aside.

Roast Tomatoes: Turn broiler back on. Spray the cookie sheet used for the
peppers with more cooking spray. Wash tomatoes and cut in half
length-wise, removing any unpleasant white/yellow inner parts. Place
tomatoes in bowl with the leftover olive oil. Add 1 tsp olive oil, 1 1/4
tsp oregano, and 1 Tbsp chopped basil to the bowl. Toss tomatoes to coat.
Arrange on cookie sheets, cut-side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and
drizzle remaining oil/seasoning on top of tomatoes. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp
grated parmesan-romano cheese. Broil 4 minutes. Carefully rotate cookie
sheets 360 degrees. Broil another 4 minutes, or until tomatoes are quite
soft and cheese is golden brown. Peel off loose skins, if desired. Set
sheets of tomatoes aside to cool.

Make Sauce: Melt 3 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick
skillet on medium low. Add onion and sprinkle lightly with salt. Saute
5-8 minutes or until softened. Turn down heat to low. Squeeze roasted
garlic from individual cloves into skillet. Stir well, mashing any whole
cloves with back of spoon. Sprinkle with salt and cook 2-3 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Add 5 Tbsp flour and return heat to medium low.
Stirring constantly, cook for 4-5 minutes, spreading out mixture with back
of spoon (it should look like a slightly wet, uniformly golden paste =96
turn down heat if it begins to get dark spots, and turn up a bit if
nothing seems to be happening). Add 1/2 cup white wine and continue
stirring for 1 minute or until wine has mostly disappeared. Remove
skillet from heat and whisk in 2 cups fat-free half-and-half. Return to
heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly (turn up heat to medium if
necessary). Turn down heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring
frequently the first minute or two, and occasionally thereafter (the sauce
should have noticeably thickened by the end). Turn off heat. Add
ricotta, crab, and lemon juice. Stir very well. Taste for salt and
adjust if necessary. Set aside.

Assemble Lasagna: Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange
1/2 of noodles (3 noodles) on bottom of pan. Top noodles with 1/2 of
sauce. Arrange tomatoes on top of sauce. Top tomatoes with provel to
cover. Add a second layer of 3 noodles. Press down gently but firmly.
Add another 1/2 of sauce. Arrange half of asparagus spears on top of
sauce in two rows, each row taking up about half the pan length-wise.
Choose the less beautiful spears (the rest will go on top). Top asparagus
with sliced havarti with dill. Add a third layer of 3 noodles. Press
down gently but firmly. Top with 1/2 of sauce (half of remaining sauce).
Arrange peppers on top of sauce. Cover peppers with sliced fontina. Add
the last layer of 3 noodles. Press down gently and firmly. Top with
remaining sauce. Top sauce with the rest of the asparagus, nicely
arranged in two rows. Sprinkle asparagus with 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh
basil. Top with 1/4 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese. Sprinkle with Old
Bay seasoning and spray with cooking spray. Cover with foil and
refrigerate overnight.

Bake Lasagna: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake lasagna, still covered
with foil, for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20-25
minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and slightly brown and the
parmesan-romano is golden brown. If the lasagna is cooked immediately
rather than refrigerated, bake covered 20 minutes and uncovered 10-15
minutes, or until done. Let rest a few minutes, then cut pieces with a
sharp knife (to pierce asparagus spears) and serve

Linda in Tennessee
my web site
http://lindatn37932.tripod.com/

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