Springtime Lasagna Verde

Easy Lasagna you can make with any veggies you may have on hand.

Before we begin let me just extend an apology to my friends from Emilia Romagna because this is not a traditional lasagna verdi, this is more of a creative twist on an American pasta primavera made with layers of pesto, creamy bechamel, roasted veggies, grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano regiano and finished with a pesto panko topping. This is an incredibly easy dish to make where the only cooking you will need to do if you make your pesto ahead of time, is to make your béchamel, broil your zucchini and briefly roast your veggies to defrost them, warm them up and get rid of the excess moisture. The rest is assembling and baking the lasagna.

I wanted to fully embrace the beautiful spring weather we were having and didn't want to just grill so I decided to make a beautiful springtime pasta instead. But as usual I didn't just want to simply make the same typical and boring pasta primavera, I wanted to make something special and more interesting. I also felt a bit rebellious and wanted to make something that went against the grain but at the same time felt seasonal like the beautiful spring weather we were having. That's when it hit me! Let's make an al Forno pasta but bright, light and very seasonal. So, I created this lasagna Verde that gets its name from the green hue that gets radiated throughout the dish from a beautiful pesto but is delicate and light at the same time without overpowering any of the flavors in the dish itself. Unlike a traditional lasagna verdi this lasagna consists of layers of fresh lasagna sheets, a fresh delicate pesto, creamy béchamel, fire roasted veggies, grilled chicken and finished with a pesto panko topping. I have to say this came out every bit of rebellious, against the grain and yet fresh and light as I was hoping for. I hope you enjoy it just as much as my family and I did.

Buon Appetito!

List of Ingredients

2 Cups of Béchamel
1 1/2 cups of Pesto
1/2 cup of Muddica Atturrata
9oz of lasagna sheets (I used fresh pasta sheets and Capellos for gluten free pasta sheets)
2 Cups of roasted veggies (I used Pura Vida fire roasted vegetable mélange)
2 zucchinis (courgettes) cut into strips
1.5lb package of grilled chicken strips
9oz fresh mozzarella
1 Cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Step 1: Make the Pesto

The recipe can be found here. Please note this can be done ahead of time and refrigerated.

Step 2: Broil Zucchinis

The first thing that I like to do is to turn the broiler on to high, this will allow me to both get a nice char on the zucchini and preheat my oven at the same time. Place the zucchini strips on a sheet pan and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Make sure both sides are coated and seasoned. Place them under the broiler watching them carefully until they are nicely charred and flip them over to ensure you get a nice char on both sides and they are cooked through. Please note that if they are not cooked through, they will release a lot of liquid into your lasagna therefore it is imperative to get them fully cooked and seared on both sides. Once they are done remove and set them aside leaving behind their liquid on the sheet pan to add flavor to our veggies that we are going to roast in the same sheet pan.

Step 3: Roast the Veggies

Set your oven to 400 degrees and place the frozen veggies in the same sheet pan and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and place them into the oven to heat them up for about 5-10 minutes. Make sure the oven has reached 400 degrees prior to putting the veggies in, if not the cold frozen veggies will bring the temperature down and slow down the preheating period.

While your veggies are in the oven you can go ahead and make the béchamel sauce. When your veggies are nice and hot, they can be removed. Now you can add the chicken to them and toss to combine well. The heat from the pan and veggies will heat up and begin to reconstitute the chicken so you end up with perfectly juicy chicken at the end.

Step 4: Make your Béchamel

Recipe can be found here.

Step 5: Make your Muddica Atturrata

Recipe can be found here.

Step 6: Assemble Lasagna

To assemble begin by spreading a tiny bit of pesto and a tiny drizzle of the béchamel on the bottom of your baking dish to avoid the pasta sticking to it.

Now place a layer of pasta over it and spread a tiny thin layer of pesto over the pasta sheets ensuring to cover all the pasta as this will be what will help cook these no cook pasta sheets. Now place your veggie and chicken mixture directly on the pesto covered pasta sheet and nestle in the zucchini strips ensuring you have them all evenly spread so you get a little of everything in each bite. Now evenly add a little of the fresh mozzarella and drizzle the whole thing with the bechamel and finish with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. Repeat the same thing until all three layers have been completed. I know many people don't like to sauce the top of their lasagna however if you're using no bake lasagna sheets its incredibly important to do this in order to ensure the top is evenly coated with a layer of pesto, bechamel and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano so it cooks evenly in the oven. Cover it with foil and cook in the 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Now remove the foil and spread the muddica atturrata over the top and place back into the oven until the top is golden and bubbly. Let rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Do not skip this step it is important to allow it to rest in order to have it cool enough and to allow the sauce to redistribute nicely and the flavors to settle down.

Please note

I used fresh no cook lasagna sheets so I didn't have to precook them however if you use dry lasagna that needs to be precooked then you want to get them cooked to where they are pliable but still very aldente before you begin assembling because they will finish cooking in the oven.

With regards to the pesto, I used pecans and parmigiano regiano for this specific recipe, in order to make it milder and allow all the flavors to shine.

If you're making it gluten free, I suggest using Capellos fresh pasta sheets which are sold in the frozen section of the grocery store. I really like Capellos as a gluten free option because these really resemble and come the closest to regular fresh gluten pasta sheets and they are no cook pasta sheets so they are also super easy to use. Just ensure you thaw them out in your fridge overnight thoroughly prior to using.

I used precooked frozen Pura Vida Flame Grilled Vegetable Mélange because they have a perfect char flavor and simply need to be heated in the oven prior to using so there is no cooking involved.

Another great tip will be to use leftover chicken or a good quality package of sliced precooked chicken breast like Springer Mountain Farms, Applegate or True Story. This is another great shortcut to simplify cooking and prep. I personally used the Springer Mountain Farms precooked chicken breast strips.