Pesto Lasagne is a favourite Sunday meal for Italians! Today I will share with you a vegetarian lasagna made with Basil Pesto. A traditional recipe from Genoa, the capital of northwest Italy’s Liguria region.

You can find a wide range of dishes made with Basil Pesto.  It’s an Italian classic combined with Trofie Pasta and it is also delicious with potatoes, green bean or focaccia (an Italian flat oven-baked bread seasoned with olive oil, salt and herbs).

This Genovese Lasagne is a great alternative to the traditional Bolognese Lasagne and it is perfect for people who follow a vegetarian diet.

It’s quick, easy and effortless!

Tips:

– In most cases, you don’t need to pre-cook the lasagna sheets but choose a good quality pasta because the texture is fundamental to absorb the sauce.

– Basil Pesto is a versatile sauce full of flavour but again, the quality is fundamental to obtain the best results. The basil cultivated to make our sauce grows high up on the hills of Liguria, a place known for its perfect growing climate. Try it!

Ready for a new delicious recipe? Prepare with me my:

Genoese Pesto Lasagne

Ingredients

• 1 pack of Lasagne Pasta Sheets (250g)
• 70g of grated Parmesan
• 2 Small Jars of Basil Pesto or 1 Large Jar of Basil Pesto
• 3 Potatoes (middle size)
• 200g Green Beans
• 40g of Toasted Pinenuts
• 1 Ts of Butter

For the White Sauce

• 1liter fresh Milk
• 100g Butter
• 100g White Flour
• Nutmeg, as needed
• Salt, a pinch

White Sauce

To make the white sauce, we had to follow the same procedure used for the Bolognese Lasagne.

Warm up the milk in a small pot, flavour it with grated nutmeg and reserve.

In a second pot, add the butter and melt it. Then, add the flour, stirring vigorously and add the warm milk. Do this slowly, constantly stirring and preventing the formation of clots. Cook for 5-6 minutes until you obtain a consistency of medium thickness.

Build your own Lasagne!

Boil the potatoes and crumble them, to obtain big crumbles.

In the meanwhile, boil the green beans too, in a separated pan.

Take a 30x20cm oven pan, and grease it with a bit of butter, and spread a spoon of white sauce on the bottom. Make the first layer of lasagne sheets.

On top, add a layer of Basil Pesto and a handful of toasted pine nuts.

Then, add some potato crumbs and a few boiled green beans.

Finally, sprinkle with generous grated parmesan, and a further layer of white sauce.

Make other layers following the same sequence (lasagne-pesto-toasted pinenuts-potato crumbles-green beans-grated parmesan-white sauce).

The last layer should end with pesto, white sauce, toasted pine nuts, and parmesan (you’re allowed to exaggerate!).

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C, to get a crunchy top layer! Let the lasagne rest for while before serving.

So delicious!

Enjoy and… Buon Appetito!