Palmabella's Passions

I did some catering on Friday. One of the ordered items was a pesto lasagna (hence the disposable pan). This is a great vegetarian dish, and a refreshing change from a heavy, traditional meat/red sauce lasagna. I had enough pasta dough and other ingredients left to make us two small ramekins for our dinner.

14 oz. pesto (your own or 2 Trader Joe's tubs)
2 lb. fresh ricotta
freshly made pasta sheets, or boiled lasagna noodles
1 lb. buffalo mozzarella
2 c. grated parmigiano or pecorino-Romano cheese
6 cups. bechemel sauce (recipe follows)

1. Reserve 1/4 c. of pesto, then combine the remaining pesto with room temp ricotta.
2. Slice mozzarella into thin slices.
3. Make bechamel:

Over medium heat, whisk together 12 T. butter with 12 T. flour and 1/2 t. salt.
Add 6 cups milk (whole or low fat), stirring constantly. In about 6-9 minutes, mixture will thicken, and begin to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 c. of grated cheese. Set aside.

* If using fresh pasta (I ALWAYS use fresh pasta dough), do not boil. If using a box of regular noodles, boil them according to package directions.

Assembly:

Spray pan with a little cooking spray. Layer pasta, thinly spread ricotta mixture, mozzarella, bechamel (spread with spatula), then some grated parm. Repeat (two or three times, depending on your pan). For top layer, end with pasta, bechamel, reserved pesto (without ricotta) and parm. This can be made ahead. Cover and chill until ready to cook. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Cheesy, melty, gooey layers of yumminess!