Easy Lasagne with Green Pesto
The official name that I have given this dish is ‘Lasagne a la Portofino’ which is a small coastal town in Italy where I had this lasagne in a restaurant and I can honestly say it was the best lasagne that I had ever tasted! So the problem after that was trying to recreate something that I did not have the recipe for! The lasagne was totally melt in the mouth and was made up of fresh lasagne sheets with plenty of olive oil and green pesto. You can either make the recipe just like that or else add a few extras if you like.
I have made this recipe quite a few times and each time I vary it a bit just to see what it will turn out like but this is the staple that I start off with. If you have vegetarian guests then this is a great main meal or if you want to make the non-vegetarian alternative then you can add some chopped cooked chicken.
Vegetarian Lasagne Ingredients
The main ingredients are as follows – some are optional depending on your taste.
- Lasagne sheets (can be fresh or dried) – you will need around 4 to 8 sheets depending on the size and shape of your dish.
- Green pesto (homemade or from a jar) – one small jar will suffice
- Mushrooms (optional) – one standard pack of around 500g.
- Bechamel sauce – you can make this from a packet or else it is easy to make up a fresh jug of sauce yourself – see below. For this you will need, butter (around 2oz), flour (plain, 3 tablespoons) and around half a pint of milk – the measurements also depend on how much lasagne you want to make and how big your dish is but this should serve 4 people.
- Mozzarella cheese (or other cheese if you prefer) – one packet of shredded/grated cheese.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (if extra is required)
Quick Bechamel Sauce
For my simple bechamel sauce I find it easy to make it in the microwave and it does not come out lumpy.
Melt around an ounce of butter in the microwave. Stir in enough flour to soak up the butter. When this is mixed to a thick paste heat it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to slightly cook it. Then stir in around a half a pint of milk. Put the mixture back in the microwave for 30 seconds then take out and stir. Repeat this until the mixture thickens which should be after a minute (depending on how much milk you have added). As soon as it starts thickening stir it all together and you will have a nice bechamel sauce. Add some salt and pepper to this and a sprinkling of the grated mozzarella cheese. Don’t make the sauce too thick so that it spreads across the lasagne.
Lasagne Cooking Method
Cook the lasagne according to the instructions on the packet – some lasagne sheets need boiling first where others you can use straight from the packet. This works best if the lasagne is precooked.
Slice up the mushrooms and fry them for about 5 minutes in some butter with either half a chopped garlic clove (or more if you like your garlic!) or some garlic salt or powder and set aside.
Layer a dish with each item starting with the lasagne. Then add spoonfuls of pesto so that the lasagne is covered with a thin layer, adding extra olive oil if required, then a thin layer of the bechamel sauce and finally some mushrooms (see pic on right). Keep layering until the dish is full and finish with a layer of the bechamel sauce.
Sprinkle the grated mozzarella on top of the lasagne and then cook in a pre-heated oven for around 15-20 minutes (assuming the lasagne is pre-cooked, otherwise follow cooking instructions on the packet).
