Keith's Pesto Lasagne

Keith's Recipes

Pesto Lasagne

A pesto based meatless lasagne recipe. If you like pesto, you'll probably like this lasagne!

This is a recipe I came up with when trying to figure out something interesting to make... I had seen a couple of pesto lasagne recipes, and the thought intrigued me, but each pesto lasagne recipe I looked at was pretty much "make lasagne, add chopped basil to the sauce or over the sauce." I pretty much was unimpressed with this concept, thinking if I want a pesto lasagne, I want it to be pesto, not tomato, based... So, here's what I came up with - well sort of. This is actually based on alterations I think I would want to make if I make it again. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Keith's Pesto Lasagne

Serves about 7

• 2 heads garlic
• 8 oz. fresh basil
• 4 oz. pine nuts
• 5 oz. Parmesan cheese
• 5 oz. Romano cheese
• 2 pounds Mozzarella cheese
• 32 oz. Ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 package lasagne noodles
• 2 oz. (about 1/2 bunch) of parsley
• 10 oz. (about 3/4 bunch) fresh spinach *
• 1 large yellow onion *
• 8 oz. mushrooms *
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup white wine

* adjust these to taste, you want to end up with about 1 1/2-2 cups after they have been browned together.

Mix ricotta, eggs, about 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley, about 1/2 of the Parmesan and Romano, and about 1/3 of the mozzarella together in a large bowl and set aside.

Cut the flowers and the long stems off the basil so you have mostly leaves. Chop remaining parsley, garlic, basil, and pine nuts very fine and brown in about 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. wine in a heavy skillet stirring frequently. Salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and add remaining wine. Stir together. Add about 1/4 cup of Parmesan and Romano and stir together. Stir in milk and simmer. Set aside as sauce begins to thicken.

Coarse chop onions and spinach, and slice mushrooms. Brown together in 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat to make filling. You may need to add a little more olive oil as you are cooking to keep from sticking. Reduce heat once browned to keep warm.

Boil water to prepare pasta, but only cook pasta about 2/3 through (probably about 6-8 minutes). Drain pasta and set out or hang to keep from sticking together.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a 13x9 baking dish or cake pan, spread about half of filling over the bottom. Lay noodles flat overfilling to cover. You'll probably need to overlap noodle a little. Spread about 1/2 of pesto over noodles. Dollop or spread about 1/2 of ricotta mixture over pesto. Cover evenly with about 1/2 of remaining mozzarella. Cover with another layer of noodles. Spread with remaining pesto. Cover evenly with remaining ricotta. Spread remaining filling over top. Add another layer of noodles. Cover with remaining mozzarella. Garnish with additional parsley (if desired) and sprinkle with remaining Romano and Parmesan (set aside some Romano and Parmesan for cheesy herb bread - if desired).

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until the top has golden points.

Serve with Caesar salad or green salad and garlic herb bread or cheesy garlic herb bread.