lasagne primavera
Looking back on the recipes we have blogged so far I’ve realized we are very rich in cakes and all manner of sweet things (and I wonder why) but rather poor in pasta dishes. This won’t do! Considering Candi and myself are Italian I’d say this oversight is close to a crime, so here is a nice recipe suitable for vegetarians I half invented (I saw a similar one in a free supermarket magazine in Italy. I get inspired by all sorts!) which I made the other night. I LOVE all types of baked pasta, particularly lasagne. I’ve tried different combinations over the years (traditional, with spinach and ricotta, with aubergines and mozzarella, with salmon and broccoli, the one Candi blogged with pumpkin and gorgonzola…you name it) and, to be honest, you can’t really go wrong with it. It always tastes great! In this particular one I put grilled courgettes, asparagus and peas. Plus a bit of ricotta cheese for some added interest. I always make my bechamel sauce in the microwave, which makes it dead easy to accomplish. For this particular recipe as the theme was spring (hence the name “primavera”, which means spring in Italian. I used the Italian word for special effects :-)) and the dominant colour was green I used spinach lasagne sheets.
INGREDIENTS
1 pack of fresh lasagne sheets
2 biggish courgettes
1 bunch of asparagus
4 handfuls of peas
1 tub of ricotta cheese (250 gr.)
800 ml. bechamel sauce
grated parmesan cheese to taste (I use STACKS!)
grated nutmeg
METHOD
Cut the courgettes lenghtways in thin strips, brush them with olive oil and grill. In the meantime steam the asparagus until nice and soft and cook the peas in boiling water (only for a few minutes). Drain and set on one side.
Make the bechamel sauce (sorry folks. I can’t teach you how to make this but it’s really quite simple if you use the microwave, as mentioned).
Layer the lasagne, putting some of the vegetables, a bit of the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and bechamel sauce on each layer. Finish with the bechamel sauce and loads of grated parmesan. Grate a bit of nutmeg on the top.
Cook at 190 degrees for approx. 30 minutes (until golden brown and bubbly at the top).
Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Ehi! mi hai rubato le lasagne?! Queste sono le lasagne primavera 2012. Dai che ne postiamo una diversa ogni primavera!
Eh eh non mi ricordavo le avessi chiamate primavera! La verità è che le lasagne si possono fare con qualsiasi verdura e vengono sempre una bontà !:-) ok d’ora in poi dovremo pensarne una nuova ogni primavera….