Pesto Lasagne Recipes

PESTO LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in the olive oil until tender. Add spinach and stir. Remove from heat and stir in the pesto. In a large bowl mix ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• In a 3 quart greased baking dish, layer the noodles then the spinach mixture, followed by the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Repeat the layers ending with noodles on top. Spread the Alfredo sauce over the top and sprinkle with parmesan.
• Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes.

PESTO LASAGNA ROLLS

Steps:

• Position an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles 1 minute longer than the package directions for al dente. The pasta should be tender enough that it will roll without cracking. Drain well and rinse with cold water. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and is the consistency of a thin gravy, 6 to 8 minutes. Allow the bechamel sauce to cool slightly.
• Beat the egg in a large bowl and then stir in the ricotta, spinach, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the pesto, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup pesto into the slightly cooled bechamel sauce.
• Brush a 13- by 9- inch baking dish with oil. Spread 1/4 cup of the pesto-bechamel sauce on to the bottom of the dish.
• Lay half of the cooked lasagna noodles on a clean work surface and spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture evenly over each. Starting with a short end, roll each noodle up. As you make the rolls, transfer them to the prepared baking dish seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon the remaining pesto-bechamel sauce over the lasagna rolls and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until the rolls are heated through and the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is browned on top, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, if using, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 13 by 9 by 4 baking dish and add a thin layer of besciamella (bechamel sauce). Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, and then another thin layer of besciamella. Gently spread about 4 tablespoons pesto across the surface, and then top with about 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Repeat until you finish layering the lasagne. Top with a final layer of noodles and spread a final very thin layer besciamella, pesto, Parmesan cheese and a little butter to help the cheese crisp-up when cooked in the oven.
• Cook the lasagne for about 30 minutes. Serve dressed with some Parmesan and a drop of extra-virgin olive oil.
• Fresh Pesto: Combine the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil in a mortar and pestle and pound until paste forms. Add the Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.
• Keep the pesto in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
• Mix the pasta and the pesto...serve garnished with some grated Parmesan (just a touch), fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil.
• Besciamella: Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook's Note: This is an important moment, as you have to slowly toast the flour without burning it. This will help you lose the floury taste.
• Warm up the milk and gradually ladle into the pot with the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly while bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season the sauce with freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

PESTO LASAGNA

Steps:

• To prepare pesto lasagna , start with the pesto (for the complete procedure you can see our Genoese pesto recipe): first off, clean the basil leaves with a clean cloth, do not wash them with water. Then take a mortar and pound the peeled garlic together with a pinch of coarse salt: once you have a creamy mixture, add the basil leaves and another pinch of coarse salt 1 . Crush the basil by turning pestle and mortar in the opposite direction 2 . Add the pine nuts and grated cheese as you continue to crush the ingredients. Finally, add the oil 3 a little at a time, continuing to mix the ingredients well with the pestle until you obtain a homogeneous sauce. Alternatively, you can make the pesto in a blender, taking care to cool the blades in the refrigerator first and blend for the shortest possible time to prevent the basil from discoloring.
• Set the pesto aside 4 . As an alternative to the mortar, you can proceed with a blender fitted with blades for making pesto. Now proceed with the homemade pasta. Pour the sieved flour into a bowl (keep about 1/4-1/3 cup (30-40 g) to add later if needed) 5 . Add the eggs and start mixing the ingredients with a fork, incorporating the flour a little at a time 6 .
• Then knead the dough with your hands 7 for at least 10 minutes until a soft and homogeneous mixture is obtained. Shape into a loaf 8 , wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool, dry place for about 30 minutes. Now make the béchamel sauce: heat the milk in a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, then turn off the heat and add the sifted flour a little at a time 9 , stirring continuously with a whisk to prevent any lumps. Then put the butter and flour mixture back over low heat and stir until golden.
• Season the milk with nutmeg and salt, then pour it a little at a time into the butter and flour mixture 10 , stir vigorously with a whisk 11 . Cook for 5-6 minutes on a low heat and continue stirring until the sauce thickens and starts to boil. Your béchamel sauce is ready, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool down 12 .
• In the meantime, pick up the fresh dough, sprinkle it with very little 00 flour, then divide it into 2 portions; wrap in plastic the one you are not using immediately to prevent it from drying out and put the other through a pasta machine (alternatively you can roll out the dough by hand with a rolling pin), flatten the dough and pass it through the rollers of the machine, from the widest to the thinnest thickness gradually until you get a very thin sheet of dough 13 . From the sheets of dough, cut 22 rectangles measuring 4x6 inches (10x15 cm) with a smooth pastry cutter or a knife 14 . Place the sheets on a tray with flour to prevent them from sticking 15 .
• Bring a saucepan full of slightly salted water to a boil, blanch the sheets for 1 minute 16 , drain them and place them on a tray drizzling them with a little oil so they won't stick 17 . You can also quickly dip the pasta sheets in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Once the pasta is cooked, take a 12x8-inch (30x20 cm) ovenproof dish and grease the bottom with a little oil 18 .
• Spoon a layer of béchamel sauce 19 then one of pesto 20 , and lay 3 sheets of pasta on top 21 , overlapping them slightly.
• Cover with béchamel sauce 22 and pesto, taking care to distribute the sauces evenly with a spoon 23 , sprinkle with grated cheese 24 and repeat with another layer of fresh pasta sheets until the ingredients are used up (you will need 6 layers composed of 3 sheets each).
• Finish off the last layer with 4 sheets of dough arranged horizontally (25-26), then top with béchamel sauce and pesto 27 .
• Mix the sauces well to obtain a more homogeneous cream 28 and finish with a layer of grated cheese 29 . Now bake the pesto lasagna in a preheated static oven at 360°F (180°C) for 15 minutes, then continue for another 5 minutes in grill mode (if you like a softer surface, you can skip this step). Take the pesto lasagna out of the oven and let it cool slightly before taking to the table 30 !

PESTO CHICKEN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute red pepper and onion in butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended; gradually stir in the milk, broth, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chicken, pesto and olives. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the egg, ricotta cheese and feta cheese., Spread 1 cup marinara sauce in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Layer with four noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, half of the spinach, half of the pesto mixture and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining the noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese., Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes more or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

PESTO LASAGNA WITH SPINACH AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sautégarlic and onion in olive oil until onions are soft. Reduce heat and stir in the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. Stir in spice and 1/2-1 can of tomato paste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 1 hour.
• Thaw spinach and squeeze all of the water out. I use 1 and 3/4 packages of spinach--adjust to your taste. Mix ricotta and cottage cheese in a large bowl. Stir in spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, and salt and pepper to taste. When you have the taste to your liking, stir in the egg. This will help keep the lasagna together, but you will not taste it in the final product.
• Layer as follows into a 9x13 pan: Drizzle a little sauce in the bottom. Top with noodles. Spread Spinach mix and cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella slices and 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Repeat two more times, ending with cheese on the very top. Sprinkle the top with a little oregano and black pepper for aesthetic appearance.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. This dish can be made in advance and cooked right before serving.

PESTO POLENTA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Oil an 11x7x2 inch baking dish.
• Arrange a single layer of polenta in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread a thin layer of pesto over the polenta. Spoon half of the sauce over the polenta. Top with another layer of polenta and sauce.
• Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Top polenta with cheese and pine nuts, and broil until cheese browns and nuts are toasted.

BAKED PESTO LASAGNA

Steps:

• Boil the noodles in well salted water until al dente. Drain well, and lay all the strips out to dry on paper towels.
• Wash basil leaves well in several changes of water. Blanch in boiling water just until limp. Using a slotted spoon, immediately plunge into ice water to cool. Drain again and squeeze dry. Place in blender with parsley, garlic and oil, and purée until smooth. Season with pepper to taste, and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Raise heat and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth. Stir in the Parmigiano. Let cool slightly, then stir in the pesto until completely blended.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spoon a little of the pesto sauce over the bottom of the pan. Line with 3 strips of the noodles. With a rubber spatula, top each strip evenly with sauce. Sprinkle with about a quarter of the mozzarella and Monterey Jack. Repeat with three more layers, using all the noodles, and most of the sauce and cheese. Pour all the remaining sauce over, smoothing the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Cover pan tightly with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

EASY PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Place the pesto, half the mascarpone and 250ml water (or vegetable stock if you have some) in a pan. Heat and mix until smooth and bubbling. Add the spinach and peas and cook for a few more mins until the spinach has wilted and the peas thawed. Add the herbs and season.
• Place a third of the pesto mixture into a baking dish roughly 18 x 25cm. Top with 4 lasagne sheets, then repeat with 2 more layers of sauce and lasagne sheets, finishing with a layer of pasta. Mix enough milk into the remaining mascarpone to make a white sauce consistency, season, then pour over the top. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and pine nuts. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges. Scatter over the reserved basil leaves and serve with a green salad, if you like.