This pesto lasagna is made of soft warm pasta, layered with a basic pesto, made with basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese with bechamel sauce.
unsalted butterfor baking dish, + more for topping
9ounceslasagna noodlesfresh or No Boil
1cupparmesan cheesefreshly grated
dried oreganofor garnish (optional)
Fresh Pesto
4cupsfresh basil leaves
⅓cuppine nuts
2clovesgarlic
½cupextra-virgin olive oil+ more for sprinkling
¼cupparmesan cheesefreshly grated
¼cupRomano cheesefreshly grated
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepperto taste
Besciamella
½cupunsalted butter
½cupall-purpose flour
4 ½cupswhole milk
1pinchnutmegfreshly grated
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepperto taste
Instructions
Fresh Pesto
Combine the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic in a food processor and pulse several times.
Drizzle in olive oil while the processor is running until paste forms.
Add the Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese; stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. This is a crucial moment for your pesto, as you need to season with salt and pepper, keep in mind that Parmesan and Romano are both dry and salty cheeses. Be careful not to over-salt.
Besciamella
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour.
In a separate small pot over medium heat, warm up the milk, but do not boil!
Gradually pour the warm milk into the pot with the butter-flour mixture. Grab a whisk and whisk constantly, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, season the sauce with freshly grated nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Besciamella should no longer taste like flour; if it does keep cooking the sauce over low heat until the raw flour taste is gone. If the sauce becomes too thick, add in a little more milk.
Prepare the pasta
While the besciamella is cooking, prepare pasta according to package directions or make from scratch as I did. The original recipes says to use No-Boil lasagna noodles, but I have never used them. Feel free to use them if want!
Assemble the lasagna
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a deep 13 x 9 baking dish; add a thin layer of besciamella to the bottom of the dish.
Cover the sauce with a layer of lasagna noodles; then pour in 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 lasagna.
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. Garnish with dried oregano, if desired.
Cook the lasagna for about 30 minutes. Serve dressed with extra Parmesan and a drop or two of extra virgin olive oil.
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