Pesto Lasagna
Layers of pasta, ricotta, mozzarella and pesto bechamel sauce
Ingredients
For the bechamel:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1/2 tsp salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups basil pesto
For the cheese mixture:
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tbsp dried italian seasoning or fresh chopped basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
For the assembly:
- 12 lasagna noodles cooked al dente
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella
- 6 tbsp parmesan cheese
Instructions
Noodles:
- Cook the noodles to al dente, rinse under cold water and toss with oil to keep from sticking. Set aside until you need them. I laid mine out on a parchment lined baking sheet so they would stay nice and flat.
For the sauce:
- Place butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and allow to melt. Add the flour and whisk, cooking over medium for a minute. Slowly whisk in the milk to avoid lumps. Season with salt, pepper and simmer for a minute until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the pesto.
For the cheese:
- Combine ricotta and other ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
To finish:
- Heat oven to 375. Ladle a little bechamel into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread it around. Layer 3 noodles over and spread about 1/4 of the ricotta mix over it all. Top with 1/4 of the cheese and some more sauce. Continue layers like this until you use up all your noodles, topping the last ones with sauce and then cheese. Sprinkle parm all over and cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes, then uncover and bake until bubbling and the cheese is well browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to cut into pieces.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!