Pesto Lasagna with Green Beans and Potatoes

See also:

• Fish Lasagna Recipe
• Spinach Lasagna Recipe
• Italian Green Bean Casserole | Polpettone alla Ligure

Pesto Lasagna with Green Beans and Potatoes Recipe

• Prep Time: 45 Min
• Cook Time: 1 Hour
• Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

Doses for a 25×20 cm (10×8 inch) baking dish

For Lasagna Noodles

• From 7 to 10 lasagna: you can make fresh homemade lasagna noodles following our step by step recipe: how to make Homemade Pasta
• Or you can buy authentic Italian flat lasagna, oven ready (no cooking or boiling necessary), made with durum wheat (we recommend Tuscanini brand)

For Bèchamel Sauce

• 500 ml (2 cups) of whole milk
• 50 g (1,7 oz = 3 1/2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
• 50 g (1,7 oz = 4 tablespoons) of all-purpose flour
• fine salt to taste

Pesto Ingredients

• 50 g of basil leaves (about 60/65 leaves)
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 70 g (1/2 cup) of Parmigiano Reggiano
• 30 g (2 tablespoons) of Pecorino Fiore Sardo</a
• 2 peeled garlic cloves
• 15 g (1 tablespoon) of pine nuts
• 4 or 5 grains of coarse salt
• ice

Other Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) of green beans
• 2 medium potatoes
• 200 g (1 cup) of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese

Step 1) – To make Pesto Lasagna with Green Beans and Potatoes, first prepare the pesto. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Wash the basil leaves in cold water. Place them in a large bowl with plenty of ice for 3-4 minutes. This will make your pesto super green!

Step 2) – Now dry the leaves VERY WELL on a kitchen towel. Place them in a food processor with the garlic, pine nuts and grated Parmigiano cheese.

Step 3) – Coarsely chop the ingredients for a few seconds. Add the salt and the grated Pecorino Fiore Sardo cheese. Mix all the ingredients together for about 1 minute.

Add the extra virgin olive oil. Blend for about 5 minutes until the pesto is ready, green and creamy!

TIP: pesto should not get hot, so use the food processor at the lowest speed and in pulses, that is, blend for a few seconds, stop and start again.

For more information, tips and tricks, read our pesto recipe.

Step 1) – Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and add the flour – using a sieve – whisking quickly.

Cook for 30 seconds/1 minute, stirring, so that the flour becomes more flavorful and absorbs the fat from the butter.

The mixture of butter and flour is called roux and should turn a nice golden color.

Meanwhile, heat the milk without bringing it to a boil.

Step 2) – Turn off the heat. Slowly pour the hot milk over the roux, stirring well with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming.

When the milk is completely poured over the roux sauce, return the saucepan to low heat.

Continue stirring until you reach a fairly thick consistency (about 10 to 15 minutes).

The sauce is ready when it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. Finally, taste and add a pinch of fine salt to taste.

If you used a whisk and stirred at supersonic speed, there should be no lumps in the sauce. If there are lumps, use an immersion blender to whisk the sauce until the lumps dissolve.

Step 1) – Now cook the vegetables. Peel and halve the potatoes. Wash the green beans and cut off the ends.

Place the potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted water. Bring the water to a boil. When it boils, add the green beans and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

When vegetables are cooked, drain and set aside.

Step 2) – Now prepare the pesto béchamel sauce. In a bowl, add the pesto to the béchamel sauce and mix. Set aside.

Step 3) – FRESH LASAGNA: If you want to use fresh lasagne sheets, you must first cook them. Cook the lasagne sheets in boiling water for 1 minute. Place the cooked lasagna on clean tea towels, spaced apart.

DRY LASAGNA: If you want to use dry, packaged lasagna instead, you don’t have to do anything.

Now that you have prepared all the ingredients, proceed to make the pesto lasagna with potatoes and green beans.

Spread a little pesto béchamel sauce on a baking dish, then add enough lasagna to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with another layer of pesto béchamel sauce.

Step 4) – Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmigiano cheese. Then add some roughly chopped potatoes and green beans, covering the entire surface.

Cover with another lasagna and start again: pesto sauce and béchamel sauce – parmigiano cheese – green beans and potatoes (repeat).

Continue making layers until all the ingredients are finished, or at least until the baking dish is full.

How to Bake Pesto Lasagna

Step 5) – Top with a sheet of lasagna, a layer of pesto béchamel sauce and plenty of grated Parmigiano cheese.

Cover the pesto lasagna with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for 20 minutes.

Step 6) – Remove the aluminum foil and finish cooking in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

Allow the pesto, potato, and green bean lasagna to cool to room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.