After giving you a glimpse of
Cinque Terre: http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/04/on-to-cinque-terre-part-i.html
Then introducing you to
Ligurian cuisine: http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/04/lunch-with-daniela-cinque-terre-part-ii.html
And taking you on a tour of
the five plus one villages: http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2017/05/cinque-terre-part-iii.html
I’m going to go way beyond and
with the inestimable help of Daniella’s exquisite recipes allow your taste buds
to travel to Cinque Terre. Being a
generous soul, I’ll even allow you to take complaining family and fickle
friends along. Airfare not included.
On our first journey (yes,
there will be more than one), you’ll make two sauces and put them together to
form the perfect lasagna. But, it’s not
just any lasagna. This one has no meat
and no tomato sauce, so put those cans of tomato paste back on the shelf,
behind your expired cans of Chef-Boy-R-Dee spaghetti. Today, you’ll sample lasagna as you’ve never
tasted it.
Pesto Lasagna Ligurian Style,
by Daniella
First off, what is Ligurian
style? Well, Liguria is the area of
Italy, often known as the Italian Riviera.
It’s capital is Genoa and Cinque Terre is right on the coast, on the
part that curves to the right. (See the
map)
Now that you’re enlightened,
let’s get on with this fabulous dish! No
more interruptions please, except of course to refill my wine glass. As was famously said, I often cook with wine
and sometimes I add it to the food.
Lasagna al Pesto
Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC
Butter a 9 X 13 Inch (23 x 33 cm) roasting dish or pan
Lasagna noodles
2 Packed cups fresh basil leaves
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons pine nuts, plus 2 tablespoon to put on top of
the finished dish.
¾ Cup of mixed and grated cheese (parmesan and pecorino) +
more cheese for
dusting between layers
Olive oil, (see putting it together below)
2 Cups whole milk
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
Salt
Here’s a hint: What we call Parmesan, in Italian is
Parmigiano
(Par-mi-jan-o)
Here’s another hint: Pine nuts too expensive? No basil handy? Lots
of ways to make pesto. Try spinach with walnuts. Delicious!
Use fresh lasagna noodles, or a package of no boil noodles, approx.
1 1/2 lbs.
If using fresh noodles, add sheets one at a time to boiling
water
for a minute, then plunge in cold water. Place each sheet on
dry towel.
Pesto- (Make double or triple the amount
of pesto, if you’re a pesto
lover, as I am!)
Clean the tightly packed fresh basil leaves in cold water, dry
well.
I mean really dry! Roll
them in a tea towel, or dish towel.
Place the leaves in a food processor or blender and pulse them until they’re finely
chopped.
Add the garlic and a large pinch of salt and turn on the
processor. With the
motor running, slowly add ½ Cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 T.
pine nuts and blend
until uniform and creamy. Add the grated parmigiano and
pecorino cheeses and
pulse again.
Note: You’re going to spread the pesto over several layers, so
if you used
only two packed cups of basil, you’ll want to thin the pesto
with about ¼ cup of
water, or do as I suggest and make double or triple the amount
to begin with!
Béchamel (bee-sha-mell) Sauce = Besciamella (bee-sha-mella) in Italian
Warm the whole milk on medium heat until almost boiling. In
another pot
heat the butter. When
melted, stir the flour into the melted buttr and cook and stir
2 minutes.
 |
| Note the milk heating on the back burner. |
Drizzle hot milk into butter-flour mixture, a half cup at a time. Repeat until
you've used up the milk. Continue stirring (I use a whisk)
until smooth and thickened.
Add 1/4 t. salt.
Putting the Lasagna together:
Spread about 2 or 3 Tbs of béchamel on the bottom of the
roasting pan, and cover
with one layer of pasta, cutting the pasta if necessary to fit
the pan.
Add a thin layer of pesto and sprinkle with parmigiano. Add
another layer of pasta
and then a generous layer of béschamel. Continue making 6 layers
in the same way,
ending with pesto, béchamel and parmigiano. Sprinkle more pine nuts on
top.
Pop it in the oven about 20-40 minutes, until the top is
browning. Let sit 15 minutes
before serving.
Gather friends. Pour
wine. Serve Lasagna….but not yet. More recipes to come!
You’ll end up with a full assortment of several absolutely
delicious Ligurian courses!
Bought your tickets yet? Only a matter of time! And while you’re at it, you might
Want to stay at one of Daniella’s properties in Monterosso.
Go to https://www.vrbo.com/475435
The six digits are the villa where we stayed, but
she has others as well.
