Fresh lasagne with pesto

6 servings 800 kcal or less baby spinach basil leaf basil leaves cheese cherry tomato cherry tomatoes how to make lasagna lasagna lasagne mains make ahead mozzarella over an hour parmesan pasta pesto

N/A

Source

Ingredients

1.2l milk

100g butter , cut into pieces

100g plain flour

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

500g baby spinach leaves

250g lasagne sheets – fresh is best

3 rounded tbsp good quality pesto

500g cherry tomato on the vine, two or three vines left whole

good handful of basil leaves (or one supermarket pack)

175g piece fresh parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), coarsely grated

2 x 150g balls mozzarella , preferably buffalo, torn into bite-sized pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Put the milk, butter and flour in a medium pan and cook over a medium heat, whisking until thickened and smooth. Simmer for 1 minute. Take off the heat, season and add the nutmeg. Cool, stirring occasionally to stop a skin forming.

Put the spinach in a large heatproof bowl, pour over a kettle of boiling water and leave for 30 seconds. Drain into a colander, cool under the cold tap then squeeze it well to remove the excess liquid.

Spread a spoonful or two of the sauce on the bottom of a large ovenproof dish (about 30x20cm) and lay a third of the lasagne on top. Spoon over a third of the sauce and spread it out. Swirl a spoonful of pesto through the sauce with a knife and scatter over half the spinach with a third of the tomatoes, a few basil leaves and a third of the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper. Layer another third of the lasagne with a third of the sauce, a spoonful of pesto, the rest of the spinach, a third of the tomatoes and cheeses and some basil. Season.

Finish with a layer of lasagne, the last of the sauce, pesto, cheeses and the tomatoes, including those on the vine. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden. Scatter with the last of the basil leaves and serve.