LASAGNE AL PESTO
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FRESH SHEETS OF PASTA:
200 g of 00 flour
120 g of eggs (2 medium eggs)
FOR THE GENOVESE PESTO:
½ clove of garlic
2 pinches of coarse salt
200 g of Tulone extra-virgin olive oil (basil flavored)
200 g of basil
60 g of grated pecorino cheese
140 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO
30 g of pine nuts
FOR THE BESCIAMELLA SAUCE:
100 g of butter
Salt
Nutmeg (to be grated)
100 g of 00 flour
1 L of whole milk
EXTRA:
80 g of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (to be grated)
PREPARATION
Start by preparing the pesto: clean the basil leaves with a clean cloth, they must not be washed with water. Then take a pestle and a mortar and pound the peeled garlic with a pinch of coarse salt: when you have obtained a creamy mixture, add the basil leaves and another pinch of coarse salt and continue mashing. Add pine nuts and grated cheeses while continuing to pound. Finally add a bit of oil, continuing to mix the ingredients well with the pestle until a homogeneous sauce is obtained. Put the pesto aside.
Now move onto making the fresh pasta. Pour the sifted flour into a bowl, add the eggs and start mixing the ingredients with a fork. Work the dough with your hands for at least 10 minutes until the mixture is soft and homogeneous. Form a loaf, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in a cool, dry place for about 30 minutes.
Now take care of the besciamella sauce: Melt the butter in pot over low heat. When it has melted completely take it off the stove and add the sifted flour stirring constantly with a whisk to avoid formation of lumps. Then put the butter and flour mixture back on the stove over low heat and stir until it becomes golden.
In a separate pot, heat up the milk. When it is warm, flavor it with some nutmeg and salt and then pour it into the butter and flour mixture, mixing everything vigorously with a whisk. Cook for 5-6 minutes over low heat, continuing to stir until the sauce has thickened and begins to boil. Your besciamella sauce is ready, transfer it into a bowl and let it cool.
Now let’s go back to work on the fresh pasta. Take the dough back, sprinkle it with a bit of 00 flour and divide it into 2 portions. Wrap one of them in the cling film and let it rest as you will not need it immediately; Take the second portion and roll it out, then start to press it either by hand, by rolling pin or by machine. Stop pressing once you get a 2 mm
thick sheet. Now, with the help of a knife cut the sheet into 22 large rectangles of about 10x15 cm. Place the sheets on a tray, and sprinkle some flour over them to prevent them from sticking.
Put a pot full of lightly salted water on the heat and when it starts to boil, put the sheets of pasta in it for 1 minute, then pull them out, drain them and place them on a tray, greasing them with a little oil, so they do not stick.
Now take a 30x20 cm baking tray, grease the bottom with a drizzle of oil, spread a layer of besciamella sauce and then one of pesto with a spoon. After that, lay 3 sheets of pasta on top of the sauce, overlapping them slightly, then cover them with the besciamella sauce and the pesto, taking care to distribute the sauces evenly with a spoon and sprinkle with grated cheese. Do this for each layer, until you run out of the sheets of fresh pasta and the ingredients. You should obtain 6 layers of pasta.
Finish the last layer by spreading the besciamella sauce and the pesto on top and sprinkling some grated cheese. Now cook the lasagna with pesto in a preheated static oven at 180°C for 15 minutes and then continue for another 5 minutes in grill mode. Take the lasagna with pesto out of the oven, let it cool slightly and then bring it to the table.