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Lasagne alla Ligure - with green beans, potatoes and pesto

A vegetarian lasagne from the Liguria region.


The music, Reflect is here

This is the fourth and final recipe in our series on regional lasagne dishes. This is a vegetarian delight: green beans, potatoes slices and pesto genovese in a Béchamel sauce.


As I'm looking to present as authentic a recipe as possible, I will say I find this a little plain in truth; when I remake it, I'll add chilli flakes for a bit of bite.

In this series

 

INGREDIENTS

green beans

potatoes

fresh egg lasagne

pecorino


Pesto Genovese

fresh basil

garlic

parmesan

pine nuts

olive oil


Béchamel

milk

plain flour

butter

nutmeg

pepper

 

Watch the video


METHOD

  • Cook the lasagne in boiling water for around 2 minutes, then put it in ice cold water to stop it cooking

  • Lay the sheets out on dish cloths and cover them to dry

  • Keep the pasta water

  • Peel the potatoes and slice them thickly

  • Top and tail the beans, and cut them into vaguely equal lengths

  • Cook the beans and potatoes in the boiling pasta water for about 5 minutes

  • Drain and set aside - reserving the water (again)

Pesto Genovese

  • NB - proper pesto Genovese is done with a mortar and pestle and takes a while. It also shouldn't be cooked when added to pasta. This version is blitzed, ad we're going to blast it in the oven anyway!

  • Pop the basil leaves in a bowl or jug

  • Add the garlic

  • Blitz for a bit - not to a paste

  • Add the parmesan, pine nuts and a goodly amount of olive oil

  • Blitz to a paste

  • Add the pasta water a little at a time, mixing as you go, until the pesto has a creamy, pourable consistency

Béchamel

  • The general ratio is equal amounts butter and flour, and those two should each be 10% of the milk

  • So...

  • 1 litre milk; 100g butter; 100g flour

  • Heat the milk, adding nutmeg and pepper. Whisk them through it

  • Do NOT let it boil!

  • Melt the butter, and add the flour, whisking it through thoroughly

  • It's important to incorporate ALL the flour into the roux (the paste you make with the butter and flour), otherwise you get a cooked four taste from the sauce - this is nowhere near as nice at it sounds...

  • Now... the classic French style is to gradually add the milk to the roux and keep whisking.

  • The classic Italian Béchamel procedure is to tip the roux into the milk and whisk it like mad - in a minute or two you have a thick sauce.

  • I prefer the Italian method.

  • If the sauce is too thin, make a little more roux in a pan and add it in, whisking as you go.

  • If the sauce is too thick, add milk - whisking as you go.


Lasagne - Assemble!!

  • A little Béchamel and pesto on the base of the dish

  • Layer of pasta

  • Layer of...

  • Béchamel

  • Pesto

  • Veggies

  • Parmesan & pecorino

  • Layer 2

  • Béchamel-pesto-veggies-parmesan/pecorino

  • Layer 3

  • Béchamel-pesto-veggies-parmesan/pecorino

  • Layer 4 - top layer

  • Béchamel-pesto-veggies-parmesan/pecorino

  • Sprinkle with pine nuts

  • 30-35 minutes at 180ºC

  • Leave to stand for 15 minutes before portioning

The music, Reflect is here


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