Pesto And Pine Nut Lasagna Recipes

PESTO

Steps:

• Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste. Add parsley if desired.

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 AND PINE NUT 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 and set aside.
• In large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil until tender. Add spinach and stir. Remove from heat and stir in the pesto and pine nuts.
• In a large bowl mix ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes 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.
• Make the alfredo sauce: In a medium saucepan combine cream, butter, and grated Parmesan cheese. Cook over medium low heat until smooth. Remove from heat.
• Spread the Alfredo sauce over the top of the lasagna and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan.
• Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes.

ARUGULA PESTO AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown sausage in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add onion and 3 of the garlic gloves, minced; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, wine, ¼ cup of the parsley, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper. Simmer on medium heat 15 minutes. Stir in ½ cup of the romano cheese.
• Place remaining 3 cloves garlic and pine nuts in food processor container fitted with steel blade; cover. Process until finely chopped. Add arugula and basil; process until smooth. Slowly add in oil in thin stream until blended. Add lemon juice and ¾ cup of the romano cheese. Set aside.
• Mix ricotta cheese, eggs, remaining ½ cup parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir in arugula mixture; mix well.
• Spread ¾ cup of the tomato sauce on bottom of 2 greased 13x9-inch baking dishes. Top each with 3 lasagna noodles, 2/3 cup of the ricotta mixture, 1 cup of the tomato sauce and 2/3 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers 2 times. Top with remaining romano cheese.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes 2 13x9-inch lasagnas with 8 to 10 servings each.

SPINACH & PINE NUT LASAGNE

Steps:

• First make the white sauce. Melt the butter and flour together in a big saucepan, and cook the paste for a couple of mins. Add the bay leaves, then gradually whisk in the milk, little by little, until you have a nice smooth sauce. Bubble for a few mins, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the bay leaf, cover with cling film (lay it directly onto the sauce) until ready to use.
• Gently cook the onions in the oil until really soft. Put the kettle on. Put half the spinach in a big colander and pour over the boiling water to wilt. Repeat with the rest of the spinach, let it cool a little then squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the spinach. Roughly chop and stir into the onions with the ricotta, a small ladle of the white sauce and most of the parmesan. Season well.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spread a quarter of the sauce into the base of a big baking dish, then dollop over a third of the spinach mixture. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, then repeat the layers - a quarter of the sauce, third of the spinach mix and some lasagne sheets. Finish with the remaining sauce and scatter over the remaining parmesan. Bake for 40-50 mins until the lasagne is cooked through and the top golden, scattering over the pine nuts with 10 mins to go.

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.

CHICKEN, SQUASH & PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Add the onions and cook until softened, then add the garlic and cook for a few mins more. Push the onions and garlic to the edge of the pan, add the chicken breasts and cook for a few mins each side to brown. Sprinkle over the flour and stir it into the onion mixture. Tip in the stock and season. Cover and simmer for 10 mins - or until the chicken is cooked through. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Add half the mascarpone and the pesto, stirring until the mascarpone has melted into the sauce, bubble for a few mins to thicken a little, then remove from the heat and stir in the basil.
• Meanwhile, place the squash in a large bowl with 2tbsp of water, cover with cling film and microwave on High for 12-15 mins, until really soft. Season the squash with a little of the nutmeg and some salt and pepper, and mash lightly with a fork.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Spoon half the chicken mixture into the bottom of a 20 x 30cm ovenproof dish. Cover with 4 lasagne sheets, then the butternut squash and half the Parmesan. Top with another 4 lasagne sheets, the remaining chicken mixture, then a final layer of lasagne. Mix enough milk into the remaining mascarpone to make a smooth sauce - you need to aim for a consistency similar to white sauce. Season with remaining nutmeg, salt and pepper, then pour over the lasagne. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan and the pine nuts. Bake for 40 mins until piping hot in the centre and crunchy and golden on top. Scatter with a few extra basil leaves before serving.