Pesto bechamel lasagna

I know, I know - I'm making a lot of lasagna these days. I've made more lasagna in the past couple of months than I have in a decade. But that seemingly bottomless box of no-boil noodles was kind of driving me nuts and I had to use it.

I had bookmarked this recipe for pesto lasagna with spinach and mushrooms ages ago, because I thought it was a contender for using up pesto. I also had a bit of crushed tomatoes sitting in the fridge so this seemed like a good opportunity to use up a decent portion of my stockpile of food.



1. I prepared a really quick batch of universal tomato sauce and set it aside. (This is what I had leftover from using about a third of a 28 oz can for something else, so I am guessing it's approximately 20 oz.)



2. I quickly blanched and chopped up some spinach which I mixed with some thawed pesto and sliced mushrooms, and salt and pepper.


3. Instead of using a ricotta-based mixture for the cheese layer, I made a bechamel sauce because I realized that I don't really like ricotta. I mean, it's fine in certain pasta dishes, but when I tried to use up the little bit I had leftover after that last lasagna, I realized that I don't really love it (something about the texture) so perhaps I should avoid using it, especially if it leads to more leftovers that I won't want to use. That's what led me to this bechamel. I had seen a lot of recipes that used it as the binder in baked pasta dishes so I gave it a shot.

Loved it. Sorry ricotta, I'm leaving you for bechamel!

Anyways, I made a really basic version using "3s": 3 tablespoons of butter (in which I sauteed a little minced garlic), 3 tablespoons of flour which I cooked into the butter for about 2 minutes, then 3 cups of milk (2%!) which I slowly added to the roux. I let this simmer for about 20 minutes or so, whisking frequently, then set it aside, continuing to stir it once in a while. As it cooled it got even thicker. This was almost perfect - I ended up having about a cup leftover, so next time for a lasagna in this pan, I'll go with 2 cups of milk.


4. Time to layer:

• tomato sauce
• noodles
• pesto/mushroom/spinach mix
• grated fontina and pecorino
• bechamel
• etc.

Last layer of sauce with the rest of the cheese.


Baked in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes covered in foil, then 5 minutes uncovered. Only managed to let it rest for another 5 minutes before I devoured it, so it was a little runny.


Final notes?

• yummy
• fontina is kind of smelly, so beware when reheating leftovers in your office kitchen
• bechamel is fantastic in lasagna
• lasagna is relatively easily to personalize
• yummy

Pantry purge: no-boil noodles (finally!) and frozen pesto
Bonus points: bechamel!
Minus points: leftover bechamel (leftovers are my frenemy)
Calorie count: a little scary so don't look if you're easily frightened - 415 calories, six [small] servings