Italian Bubbles + Lasagna Bianca #ItalianFWT

This month the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers are focusing on Italian sparkling wines with Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog at the head. You can read Martin's invitation: here. If you're reading this early enough, please join our chat on Twitter – whether you posted or not.  We love visitors and happily chat and answer questions. Simply follow the  #italianfwt hashtag on Twitter this Saturday, December 1st at 11am ET/8am PT.

The Rest of the Bubbly Group

Here’s what’s my fellow #ItalianFWT wine and food writers will be sharing!

• Lynn of Savor the Harvest suggests A Medley of Italian Sparkling Wines.
• Jeff of FoodWineClick! want us to Sparkle Your Dessert with Moscato d’Asti.
• Jen of Vino Travels ~ An Italian Wine Blog pairs Spaghetti with Clams and a Flight of Adami Prosecco.
• Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will be dishing up Italian Bubbles + Lasagna Bianca.
• Wendy of A Day In the Life on a Farm is Celebrating Leftovers.
• Kat of Bacchus Travel and Tours show us how Italian Sparklers to Light Up Your Holidays.
• Lauren of the The Swirling Dervish gives us A Trio of Italian Sparkling Wines for Your Holiday Table.
• Gwendolyn of the Wine Predator serves up Bellavista! Shrimp Pasta with Italian Sparkling Wine From Franciacorta.
• Nicole of Somm’s Table shares Classically Contratto: Beautiful Wines from Italy’s Oldest Sparkling Wine House.
• And Martin, our host, at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog, shares  A Distinctive Duo of Italian Sparkling Wines.

Italian Bubbles

I have long been a fan of Italian bubbles and almost always have a bottle of Prosecco at the ready. It's vastly more affordable than (actual) Champagne and I prefer it to most other sparkling wines though that is changing as I discover some local-to-me Pét-Nat wines.

Despite my long love of Prosecco, I realized as I prepped for this post, that my knowledge was severely limited. I selected the Cavicchioli 1928 Prosecco DOC Spumante Extra Dry for two reasons: first, it reads 'extra dry' and I didn't want anything sweet and, second, I liked the flowers on the bottle. Yes, I did just admit that I bought the wine for the label. It happens!

Made of 100% Glera grapes in the province of Treviso, the fruit is handpicked. This is bright and balanced with a snowy foam and a light golden hue. On the nose I got citrus and brioche while on the tongue I would venture more floral and a hint of mint.

This, to me, was a lovely, food-friendly sparkling wine. I poured it with one of my favorite lasagnas, a white, meatless lasagna that gets its bite from sweet potatoes and carrots. Che squisito!

Lasagna Bianca

Bianca Sauce

• 1 C diced onions
• 1 C diced celery
• 1 C diced fennel
• olive oil
• 4 T butter
• 1/3 C flour
• 3 C milk
• 1/2 C cream
• 2 C shredded carrots
• 1 C shredded sweet potatoes
• 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 T fresh thyme
• 2 t fresh sage leaves, finely sliced
• 1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 to 2 t freshly grated nutmeg
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper

Lasagna

• no boil lasagna noodles
• 3 C shredded cheese (I used a mixture of provolone, aged mozzarella, asiago, and pecorino)
• 1 C shredded parmesan + more for sprinkling on top
• 1 C small curd cottage cheese
• 1 C ciliegie (small fresh mozzarella balls)
• 1 C whole milk ricotta

Procedure
In a large, flat-bottom pan, saute the onions, celery, and fennel in a splash of olive oil until the onions are softened and translucent. Add butter and melt. Whisk in the flour and create a roux. Pour in the milk and cream. Stir until it thickens slightly.

Fold in the carrots, sweet potatoes, and herbs. Stir in the freshly grated nutmeg, then, season to taste with salt and pepper, as needed. Finally, stir in the shredded parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. To assemble the lasagna, layer white sauce, noodles, shredded cheese blend, cottage cheese, ricotta, ciliegie, parmesan, and more sauce. I probably put three or four ciliegie and a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta for each layer.

Repeat till your pan is full though the last layer should be the sauce so that the noodles are completely covered.

Cover with foil. Bake in the 375 degree F oven for one hour. Remove the foil. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan. Return pan to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese melted. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Serve hot.