Lasagna made with memories

There are certain foods that make people remember certain events and places.  For me, asparagus lasagna will always hold a special place in my heart.

Back in 2003, I was engaged to my (now) husband.  Even though we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, I needed to head back to the US to get a job and prepare for the start of our married life.  Before leaving, I wanted to do something nice for my fiancé.  I often joke that I needed to give him something to remind him of me.  I decided the best course of action was to cook him something.

I borrowed my neighbor's oven (a little toaster oven of sorts that used a lightbulb to cook the food) and made him several individual-sized portions of lasagna.  I assembled and baked them in little paper cake pans from Daiso (the Japanese version of a dollar store).

The most memorable of those lasagnas was the asparagus lasagna.  It is made with a cream sauce and lots of the scrumptious spring vegetable.  It was just a recipe I found online.  Every time I make it (which is very, very rarely), my husband always smiles and says "this tastes familiar!"

Even though it is clearly NOT a Japanese recipe, it always reminds me of Japan.  And it always brings a smile to my face.

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I couldn't find the recipe online.  Luckily I printed it out many, many years ago and stuck it in our family recipe book.  I got the recipe from Food Network, but it says it was adapted from a Gourmet Magazine recipe.  I've made a couple adjustments because the original recipe had some typos.

ASPARAGUS LASAGNA
makes 1 - 8"x8" pan, 4 servings

2 pounds medium asparagus, trimmed
1.5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 sheets instant (no-boil) lasagna
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
4 ounces mild goat cheese - I cannot find goat cheese in Japan, so I use mascarpone cheese and a spoonful of plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Cut the tips off each asparagus spear and reserve them.  In a large baking pan, toss the asparagus stalks with oil, coating them well.  Roast the stalks in a preheated 500°F oven, shaking the pan every few minutes, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until crisp tender.  Sprinkle the stalks with salt and let cool.  Cut the roasted asparagus stalks into 1/2 inch lengths and reserve it.
2. Reduce the heat of the oven to 400°F.
3. In a large bowl of cold water, let the sheets of lasagna soak for 15 minutes.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the flour, and cook the roux over moderately low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes.  Add the broth and water in a stream, whisking, simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.  Whisk in the goat cheese (or substitute), zest, and salt to taste, whisking until the sauce is smooth.
5. Drain the pasta well.  Place 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of a buttered 8 inch square baking dish.  Arrange 2 noodles in the dish and spread with 1/4 of the sauce.  Top the sauce with 1/3 of the roasted asparagus and sprinkle with 1/4 of the Parmesan.  Continue to layer the pasta, sauce, asparagus tips, and Parmesan in the same manner, ending with a sheet of pasta (you should still have the asparagus tips, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, and the heavy cream remaining).
6. In a bowl, beat the cream with a pinch of salt until it holds soft peaks.  Arrange the reserved asparagus tips over the pasta.  Spoon the cream over the asparagus tips, spreading it with the back of a spoon, and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top.
7. Bake the lasagna in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until it is golden and bubbling.  Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.