A Northern Italian asparagus lasagna with salmon, shrimp, and lemon béchamel—and the Umbrian family table that changed how I’ve eaten ever since.
An Italian Family Table in Assisi Taught Me That Meals Matter
We had barely landed in Rome when all twenty-eight of us in Rhode Island Schoool of Design’s European Honors Program were promptly packed off into the Italian countryside to learn the language the only way Italians really believe in—by living it. By some outrageous stroke of luck, I landed in Palazzo Minciotti in Assisi, where for six unforgettable autumn weeks I lived beneath an ancient stone roof with three generations of one extraordinary Umbrian family.
There was Rino Minciotti, his wife Vittoria, their daughter Sofia—my age—her younger brother Edoardo, Grandmother or Nonna Maria, who seemed to preside over the kitchen with something approaching papal authority, and Nemesia, an ancient maid who must have been closing in on ninety and a second maid, Anita, who appeared to know where every pot, every plate, and every human being in that household belonged.
Why Italian Family Meals Are Never Just About Food
Meals were never casual affairs. By late afternoon the kitchen came alive, aromas drifted through the palazzo, chairs were pulled into place, bottles uncorked, and without discussion everyone simply appeared. What I remember most is that Nonna Maria and Nemesia rarely seemed to sit down. Instead, they hovered just behind us like benevolent generals, arriving with platters, second helpings, an extra splash of wine for Rino, and the same exhortation night after night—mangia bene. Eat well. It was not a suggestion. It was family policy.
My Italian, meanwhile, was evolving with considerably less grace. Early on, trying to be polite, I asked if I might puzzare a dish, believing I was asking if I could smell it. What I had actually asked was whether I could stink it. The laughter around that Umbrian table nearly brought down the palazzo, and from that moment on I was no longer merely an American student. I was family.
Somewhere between my linguistic disasters, Nonna Maria’s watchful eye, Nemesia’s silent inspections, and those endless evenings in Assisi, I learned something that has stayed with me for the rest of my life: in Italy, meals are not squeezed in between obligations. Meals are the obligation.
From an Umbrian Table to a Northern Italian Asparagus Lasagna
To be clear, I have no memory of asparagus ever appearing at Palazzo Minciotti. We arrived in Assisi deep in the fall, when the Umbrian hills were turning gold, mushrooms were showing up in the kitchen, and truffles—not asparagus—were far more likely to command attention. What Assisi gave me was something far more enduring than a single ingredient.It taught me how Italians think about the table. It taught me that meals are not assembled around convenience, but around season, family, place, and whoever happens to be lucky enough to pull up a chair.
Why I stopped dead when I recently came across this extraordinary Poached Salmon and Asparagus Lasagna al Forno, created by Jacqui De Bono founder of The Pasta Project.
Jacqui, a Londoner who fell in love with Italy, married an Italian, and built one of the web’s most respected archives of regional pasta recipes, now cooks and writes from the asparagus-rich Veneto, where spring means green asparagus, white asparagus, wild asparagus, and more pasta possibilities than most of us deserve.
Her Northern Italian asparagus lasagna with salmon stopped me cold—not simply because it sounded delicious, although it certainly does—but because it carried the same quiet truth I first discovered around that family table in Assisi: In Italy, seasons don’t announce themselves with a date on the calendar. They announce themselves at dinner. Layer by glorious layer, this dish brings together gently poached salmon scented with lemon and dill, sweet shrimp, asparagus cooked just to the point of tenderness, and silky sheets of pasta bound together with a béchamel enriched with lemon zest, Parmigiano Reggiano and creamy stracchino* cheese. It came as a complete surprise to my dinner guests– all of whom were astonished at the lightness of the dish. It is elegant without being fussy, luxurious without being heavy, and exactly the sort of spring dish that makes people linger long after the plates have been cleared.
*I could not find Stracchino at our country supermarket. Marscapone provided a great substitute–light and creamy.
Layer by glorious layer, this dish brings together gently poached salmon scented with lemon and dill, sweet shrimp, asparagus cooked just to the point of tenderness, and silky sheets of pasta bound together with a béchamel enriched with lemon zest, Parmigiano Reggiano, and creamy stracchino cheese.Northern Italian Asparagus Lasagna with Salmon, Shrimp and Lemon Béchamel
Ingredients
Directions
We love Asparagus on Chewing The Fat. Here is a link to our favorite Asparagus recipes.
ASPARAGUS: HOW TO BUY, STORE, AND COOK THE FIRST VEGETABLE OF SPRING
And if you want more Asparagus recipes, click here…
https://chewingthefat.us.com/?s=Asparagus
