Are you Team White Sauce or Team Red Sauce? Honestly, I have been Team Red all the way, all my life. BUT, this dreamy creamy Springtime White Lasagna almost made me second guess my lifelong allegiance. Plus, I tricked my whole family into eating THREE whole different kinds of green vegetables in ONE meal because of this luscious, roasted garlic cream sauce. I said roasted garlic cream sauce. I just wanted to make sure you read that. Can you even imagine??! Yeah, it’s definitely kinda magical. 😋
You know what else is kinda magical? When groceries appear at your front door without you having to put your bra and face on, or step foot outside your door. Hehe. I got all of my ingredients for this Springtime White Lasagna recipe delivered to my door via Metro’s new online grocery service. Guys, I am so pleased to partner with them on this recipe post to let all my fellow Greater Toronto Area peoples know about this new kid on the block, committed to Freshness Delivered to Your Door. And deliver they did.
Look at the flawless ingredients I used in this recipe. I was impressed with the selection available online. I found everything I needed, including these organic leeks and local asparagus. Their specially-trained employees hand-pick the freshest products so customers feel as if they’ve picked it themselves. I also purchased a load of other items including the freshest organic apples (nary a bruise to be seen), fridge-cold almond milk and frozen wild blueberries which were perfectly frozen upon arrival, thanks to their Tri-Zone delivery trucks that transport products in designated ambient, refrigerated or frozen zones.
You must be wondering, is this service for you? As much as I enjoy the in-store experience (shout out to John, the awesome manager at my local Metro store 👋), sometimes we just need the extra hour for something else. In a previous life as a mama working a full-time, demanding job, I was dashing out during lunch to pick up groceries because there just wasn’t any other time for it. Back then, I could have used the time differently. Like…digging deep into an Excel spreadsheet 😏 Even now as a food blogger, I often find myself at the grocery store for the 3rd or 4th time in a week! I like John but not that much. A fee of $11.99 for delivery seems like a valuable trade-off for time saved because, time = money. Since I’m a professional accountant by training, I know this sorta thing 😉 If needed, you can get same-day delivery without an additional charge as long as the order is placed before 1pm. And, you can make changes to your delivery anytime before 11:59pm the night before, in case you forgot something! Flyer and store sales are applicable online as well. Loads more info on their FAQ page, guys.
I named this a Springtime White Lasagna because it features two of the best produce Spring has to offer, leeks and asparagus. I also added baby spinach into the mix. Because I love greens! And because I am a sneaky mom! Did I mention, this creamy roasted garlic sauce is soooo delicious it can trick kids into eating veggies they dislike? Yup. You’re welcome moms. Or people who have picky eaters in their lives. I got you, too.
I hope you give this a try. And let me know if, like me, you were able to pull a Houdini on your unsuspecting eaters! You all might love it!
RECIPE NOTES
Soaking cashews 2-3 hours: this step in the recipe is preferable but if you don’t have the time, un-soaked cashews can be used too if you have a quality, high speed blender that will still yield a smooth sauce.
Leeks can be subbed with a large sweet white onion, small-diced and sautéed just like the leeks before adding into the layers.
Springtime White Lasagna
{ gluten-free, dairy-free, meatless, vegetarian, vegan }
INGREDIENTS
For the Creamy Roasted Garlic Sauce:
1 whole head of garlic, less 2-3 cloves pulled off and set aside
1 cup raw unsalted cashews, preferably soaked 2-3 hours (see headnotes about soaking)
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or quality low-sodium store-bought
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
3 tbsp arrowroot starch
3 tbsp nutritional yeast (omit if you don’t have)
1 tsp kosher salt to start, but more to taste and depending on salt content of your broth
Black peppercorn, to taste
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
For the Lasagna:
2-3 cloves garlic from above, minced
2-3 leeks (i.e. you need only 2 leeks if there is a lot of the usable white/pale green part, or use 3 leeks if a lot of it is dark green)
2 bunches (~600g) asparagus
1 box (283g) baby spinach
1 box (~280g) no boil lasagna sheets, gluten-free or regular
Avocado oil or other high-heat oil for sautéing
Kosher salt to taste
METHOD
Soak the cashews in about 2 cups of water for 2-3 hours (feel free to do this overnight if it is more convenient). Rinse well, drain and set aside. See headnotes regarding soaking.
Preheat oven to 450f. Pull out 2-3 cloves of garlic off the bulb and set that aside (those will be minced to sauté the leeks). Cut across the tip of the garlic bulb so the tops of the cloves are exposed. Sprinkle a bit of salt on top and wrap the head of garlic in a piece of foil. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes (yes, I don’t bother with any oil for this). Meanwhile, prep the veggies.
Mince the 2 or 3 garlic cloves that was set aside. For the leeks, cut off the dark green part (save for making stock), keeping the white and palest green portion. Trim the end off and cut the leek in half lengthwise. Rinse under running water to clean off any soil between the layers. Cut crosswise into ½” pieces. For the asparagus, snap the woody ends off and cut into 1-1.5” long pieces. (For garnishing the top of the lasagna, I kept 3 stalks whole but that is optional). For the thicker stalk pieces, further cut them lengthwise in half.
Make the creamy roasted garlic sauce by placing all the sauce ingredients, except the thyme sprigs, into a blender. Once the roasted garlic is done and cooled to touch, hold it upside down and squeeze the soft cloves out of the skins into the blender as well. Blend until very smooth. Pour into a medium sized pot, throw in the thyme sprigs now and bring to a gentle simmer (but notboil) for 5 minutes or until noticeably thickened. Taste it! How salty you sauce tastes depends on the salt content of the broth you use. Season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed – it should definitely taste salty since the lasagna noodles and veggies will absorb the sauce as it cooks. Set aside.
If your no-boil lasagna noodles require soaking, do this now. (Mine requires a 10-minute soak in hot water).
Meanwhile, preheat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, drizzle some oil and sauté the leeks with a pinch of kosher salt for 8-10 minutes to sweat it down. Add minced garlic and continue another 2 minutes. Set aside. Add a tiny drizzle of oil and toss the spinach leaves in there a few turns until just barely wilted (you may need to do this in two batches). Once comfortable to touch, use your hands to gently squeeze out most of the excess water, but it doesn’t need to be completely dry. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 375f. We are ready to assemble. Begin layering the ingredients in your lasagna pan, starting with about ½ cup of sauce spread evenly to cover the bottom to prevent sticking. Place a layer of noodles then begin alternating sauce, sautéed leeks, wilted spinach, raw asparagus pieces, and again noodles, etc. until everything is used up. I save only a small amount of the veggies to sprinkle on the top. If you kept any whole asparagus stalks, lay them down on the top.
Cover and bake for 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 8-10 minutes.Allow lasagna to rest 10 minutes, then serve.
Enjoy! xx
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