B
BrightFutur
Here's another one from the family cookbook...You'll have to forgive me if this one is a little hard to follow - I'm transposing the text and my mother's notes to try and make it a little more coherent....Bear with me, this is terrific!
I believe my mother originally got this out of a milk calendar, it's since been heavily modified. She notes that they originally suggested it as an appetizer, but I believe that when I was growing up we ate it exclusively as a main course with salad and bread. It works very well in the spring, when asparagus is less expensive. Serves 6
'Asparagus Rolls'
Ingredients:
- 2lbs fresh asparagus (As thin and slender stalks as possible)
- 1 cup water
- Salt
- 8 oz Maple Leaf black forest ham, shaved (You can use any shaved ham you like...)
-3 green onions, finely chopped
- Bechamel Sauce
-3 cups milk
-6 tbsp butter
-4 & 1/2 tbsp flour
-2 tbsp mayonnaise
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 & 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (Freshly grated is best, of course)
-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Fresh lasagna noodles - sufficient to provide 2-3 rolls per person ( 12-18 for the quantities listed above)
Method:
1 - Preheat the oven to 350F
2 - Trim the asparagus, (optionally reserving enough whole ones to allow one for each roll), and cut the remainder into 2 inch lengths
3 - Cook in 1 cup of water until tender-crisp
4 - Chop ham and asparagus coarsely in a food processor and set aside
5 - Next make the sauce. Melt the butter over low heat, add the flour and stir well. Heat the milk to almost boiling in a separate container and then slowly add it, off the heat to the flour mixture, whisking/stirring constantly. Heat slowly until thickened, add the mayonnaise and the nutmeg.
6 - Divide the bechamel sauce in half, and add half to the ham mixture, along with 2/3 cup parmesan cheese and mix well
7 - If using fresh lasagna noodles, cut into 6 inch strips and cook until al dente.
8 - Drain and add a small amount of oil to keep the noodles from sticking.
9 - Oil a rectangular baking dish and pour 1/4 cup of bechamel sauce on the bottom.
10 - Spread a few tbsps of ham filling on a strip of pasta* and roll up. Place the roll seam side down in the baking dish and continue, until all of the rolls are on the baking dish. Pour the remaining bechamel sauce over the rolls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
11 - Bake for 30 minutes, let sit for 5 before serving.
My mother notes at the bottom of the page: 'Unbelievably good & freezes well' and also
*If you saved some whole asparagus, you roll them up so that they are at the center of the log.
Enjoy!
I believe my mother originally got this out of a milk calendar, it's since been heavily modified. She notes that they originally suggested it as an appetizer, but I believe that when I was growing up we ate it exclusively as a main course with salad and bread. It works very well in the spring, when asparagus is less expensive. Serves 6
'Asparagus Rolls'
Ingredients:
- 2lbs fresh asparagus (As thin and slender stalks as possible)
- 1 cup water
- Salt
- 8 oz Maple Leaf black forest ham, shaved (You can use any shaved ham you like...)
-3 green onions, finely chopped
- Bechamel Sauce
-3 cups milk
-6 tbsp butter
-4 & 1/2 tbsp flour
-2 tbsp mayonnaise
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 & 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (Freshly grated is best, of course)
-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Fresh lasagna noodles - sufficient to provide 2-3 rolls per person ( 12-18 for the quantities listed above)
Method:
1 - Preheat the oven to 350F
2 - Trim the asparagus, (optionally reserving enough whole ones to allow one for each roll), and cut the remainder into 2 inch lengths
3 - Cook in 1 cup of water until tender-crisp
4 - Chop ham and asparagus coarsely in a food processor and set aside
5 - Next make the sauce. Melt the butter over low heat, add the flour and stir well. Heat the milk to almost boiling in a separate container and then slowly add it, off the heat to the flour mixture, whisking/stirring constantly. Heat slowly until thickened, add the mayonnaise and the nutmeg.
6 - Divide the bechamel sauce in half, and add half to the ham mixture, along with 2/3 cup parmesan cheese and mix well
7 - If using fresh lasagna noodles, cut into 6 inch strips and cook until al dente.
8 - Drain and add a small amount of oil to keep the noodles from sticking.
9 - Oil a rectangular baking dish and pour 1/4 cup of bechamel sauce on the bottom.
10 - Spread a few tbsps of ham filling on a strip of pasta* and roll up. Place the roll seam side down in the baking dish and continue, until all of the rolls are on the baking dish. Pour the remaining bechamel sauce over the rolls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
11 - Bake for 30 minutes, let sit for 5 before serving.
My mother notes at the bottom of the page: 'Unbelievably good & freezes well' and also
*If you saved some whole asparagus, you roll them up so that they are at the center of the log.
Enjoy!