Summer Lasagne with courgettes and green pesto - vegetarian

Today I want to tempt you with a tasty, quick & easy recipe, perfect for Summer and suitable for vegetarians. It's one of my most appreciated recipes, last time I've made it was for Easter and I received lots of compliments and requests for the actual recipe. It should be ready in 60-80 minutes ;)

Ingredients:

500 gr. lasagne sheets

1 l. Bechamel sauce 

(100 gr. butter, 100 gr. flour, 1 l. milk, salt and nutmeg)

5 medium courgettes

1/2 onion

60 gr. Grana Padano cheese

(in the pics you'll see cheddar because last time I made lasagne I forgot to buy Parmesan cheese)

250 ml. Pesto Sauce 

(1 bag of pine nuts, 2 bunches of basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper)

How to make Bechamel Sauce 

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, mix butter and flour with a whisk and cook for two minutes or until slightly brown. Add the milk heated in advance (never cold from the fridge!) little at a time, whisk until it's absorbed and then add some more, continue until the milk is all absorbed, whisking continuously. Let it cook and thicken for some minutes.

How to make Pesto Sauce

Put the pine nuts, the basil leaves and 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil together and blend them, add more olive oil if too thick, add more pine nuts if too runny; check for the flavour and add salt and pepper accordingly.

How to prepare Summer Lasagne

Cut the onion and fry it until tender, grate and add the courgettes and let them cook until soft; add salt and pepper. Do not cover to prevent them from getting too watery, if necessary remove excess water before adding them to the lasagne.

Start your Lasagne with a layer of Bechamel Sauce, then lay the pasta sheets (check on the packaging if need precooking), cover with the courgettes (roughly 3 spoons), add a spoon of Pesto Sauce and sprinkle some Grana Padano cheese on top; now start again with the bechamel sauce, pasta sheets, courgettes, pesto sauce and grated cheese and repeat until your tray is full of delicious lasagne.

Bake in a pre heated oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (gas mark 4).

Enjoy!

Happiness is... a creamy risotto

When I was a little girl my mother sometimes used to ask me for help in the kitchen, and since I was totally helpless in cutting parsley, onion and garlic with the proper shape and thickness, the only task available for me was stirring (my mum is very proud of her almost invisible chopped garlic while I just don't mind to find huge chunks of onion in my plate  ^^). 

So my job was stirring, stirring soups, sauces and almost anything that needed stirring, including the very much hated Crema Particcera (which today I'm still unable to cook due to unpleasant stirring experiences)

[how many times did  I say stirring in one sentence? XD]

The one and only kind of dish I never refused to stir meticulously and diligently but I rather enjoyed to help with was the risotto. I love risotto, I am a huge fan of pasta but I also love rice (in all its versions), and risotto always had a special place in my heart (and tummy); so one of the first dishes I learnt to cook (along with some basic pasta sauces) was the "Risotto alla Milanese" or saffron risotto, which is still one of my favourites.

risotto alla milanese, made and photographed by me

I find cooking risotto extremely relaxing, and very satisfying; plus, it doesn't take so long, in half an hour you can have a (almost) proper risotto. And while the much hated crema pasticcera (no, it's not custard cream) is a nightmare because even if you stir frantically you can be sure that eventually it will burn or turn out full of lumps, the risotto can actually help you develop skills as patience, creativity and self-esteem. 

Patience because you have to stay for 30-40 minutes in front of the pan, stirring continuously, and adding the right amount of stock at the right time, you just can't rush things with risotto U__U

Creativity because once you have learnt the basics of risotto making you can introduce almost whatever ingredients you like, from limes to seafood, all kind of vegetables and more (my winter favourite risotto comes with whole nuts, mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese).

Self-esteem because a creamy risotto is a great satisfaction, it takes time, care and effort to be made and once it's ready and it's delicious... it makes you proud ^__^

Risotto is generous, risotto repays the attention and care you put in making it, risotto understands (ok, I get carried away XD).

cooking lentils&sausage risotto

I want to share with you some tips I find essential to prepare a perfect, creamy risotto:

• having lightly fried your onion (either thinly or thickly chopped) let your rice toast (yes, we toast the rice, we do not stir fry it) for at least 2 minutes or longer (just make sure your onions do not turn brown), this will help the release of starch and therefore the creaminess of your risotto;
• immediately after toasting the rice and before adding the stock pour 1/2 a glass of wine (white is better) and let evaporate, this will boost the flavour;
• add the stock a little at a time, the rice must not be boiled! You want the rice to absorb all the previous stock before adding more, watch as your rice slowly releases its starch and the thickness start to build up... nice, uh? Just make sure your rice or the onions don't get burned or stick to the pan, if this is happening add a little more stock or add the stock more frequently.
• the final part is the "mantecatura" (= creaming),  i.e. the addition of butter and Parmesan cheese to our almost cooked risotto (it usually takes place 2 minutes before removing the pan from the heat) that allows to obtain a creamy and homogeneous appearance.

Risotto lenticchie e salsiccia
made and photographed by me

I hope you enjoyed my post, share your love for risotto and leave a comment if you want ^^