Lasagna col Pesto

Alas, I am not the Italian-language queen I think myself to be. Pesto lasagna is actually Lasagna col Pesto, not Lasagna al Pesto as I wrote earlier. It is said that a person retains an average of 30% of a foreign language if they do not use it on a regular basis. Sigh.

To get to my point, my darling friend Kellie requested the recipe for the Lasagna col Pesto at TND last night. (Kellie, you know you must now attempt this. You have no excuse. Perhaps we can work on it together sometime this weekend.) Unlike most American meat lasagna recipes, this recipe does not call for the use of ricotta. The lasagna col pesto is less focused on the structure of the filling, as it is too busy with the delicate balancing act the pasta, bechamel and pesto are performing.

Enjoy this simple lasagna, it is delightfully versatile. It can be frozen for an easy weeknight dinner, and leftovers are incredible. I used pre-made pesto as fresh basil is still not available in the markets. Once it is, make your own pesto, it adds such depth to the dish.

Lasagna col Pesto

1 C. pre-made pesto (I use Trader Joe’s, it is by the pizza sauce and cheeses)
Béchamel sauce
½ C. pine nuts
1 C. grated Pecorino or Parmigiano cheese
1 lb best-quality lasagna noodles
½ C. grated mozzarella cheese

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 385.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add a spoonful of oil to it, so the sheets of pasta won’t stick, and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente, gently remove the sheets and set them to drain on a clean cloth. Stir two tablespoons of the pasta water into the pesto.

In a large casserole dish, spread a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Top with a layer of pasta, then another layer of bechamel, a layer of pesto (you can mix the pesto and bechamel, I found this the easiest route) and a layer of cheese. Repeat layers until you reach 1/2 inch from the top of the dish. Top with mozzarella and a generous amount of parmesan.

Bake 30-45 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is browned and bubbly. If the cheese begins to brown too quickly, cover the dish with foil until the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Remove foil and finish baking.