Lasagna Verde Recipes

LASAGNE VERDI AL FORNO

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Steam the spinach in a steamer or over boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess moisture and process in a food processor to make a paste. Combine spinach with eggs, semolina, and salt and process until smooth. Stir in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough. Knead briefly, cover and set aside.
• For the ragu: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute bacon, carrot, celery and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in ground pork, ground beef and minced ham, and cook until browned. Stir in tomato paste, oregano and beef stock. (Reserve the chicken livers for later.) Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• For the bechamel: While the ragu is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
• To cook pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. On a floured surface, divide pasta dough into three portions. Roll each portion out to a thin sheet. Have ready an ice water bath. Cook each sheet 3 minutes in the boiling water; remove from the boiling water and dip in the ice water; drain and dry on a clean, dry cloth.
• To finish the ragu: Stir the chicken livers into the simmering sauce. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• To assemble lasagna: Place one pasta sheet in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread one-third of the ragu, one-quarter of the bechamel, one-third of the ricotta, and one-quarter of the parmesan over the pasta. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bechamel and parmesan and dot with butter.
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

LASAGNA VERDE

Steps:

• Assemble lasagna: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a greased 12 x 7 (2-quart) casserole dish, lay down a lasagna sheet, cutting to fit if necessary; spread 1 cup of Besciamella on top. Add another layer of pasta, then evenly spread 3/4 cup Pistachio Pesto on top, followed by 3/4 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Repeat layering 2 more times for a total of 6 pasta layers. Finish with a final layer of pasta, 1 cup Besciamella, 1/2 cup Parmigiano, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake, 25 minutes. Remove foil, then back another 10 minutes until top if golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before plating. Garnish each serving with freshly cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of Parmigiano.
• In a food processor, add pistachios; pulse a few times to roughly chop. Use a chef's knife to roughly chop arugula, chives, basil, and parsley (a few stems are okay); add to the food processor. (It will seem like a lot of herbs, but just pack them down.) Add Parmigiano, along with a pinch of chile flakes and salt. Process on high speed, adding lemon juice and oil in a steady stream. (Turn off the motor to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary while processing.) Season to taste with salt. Makes 2 1/2-3 cups. (Store in airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days).
• In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, begin to melt butter. Meanwhile, roughly slice shallot and add to the butter, along with bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Once butter is bubbly, sprinkle in flour and stir constantly until the raw flour is cooked and smells nutty, 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; then slowly add milk while stirring constantly until mixture starts to thicken, 2-3 minutes. Besciamella is done when it coats the back of a spoon. Add nutmeg and season generously with salt to taste. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Remove Besciamella from heat and strain into the bowl; it should be the consistency of thick batter. (Stir in a few tablespoons water if it's too thick.) Cover the surface of the sauce with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming until assembly time. Makes 5½-6 cups. (Make ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before using.)
• Lasagna sheets: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add enough salt to make it taste like the sea. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice water and set aside. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Parcook the lasagna sheets one at a time, in boiling water, for 60 seconds, then transfer to the ice bath for 15 seconds. Place parcooked sheet on the sheet pan and pat dry with a paper towel. Cover with a layer of parchment paper and repeat, creating a stack of sheets, each patted dry and separated by a layer of parchment.(Note: If using dried lasagna, cook according to manufacturer's instructions.)

MEXICAN LASAGNA VERDE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom of dish.
• Arrange 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (tear and overlap as necessary, to completely cover bottom.) Top with one-third each of the chicken, tomatoes, red onion, green chiles and cheese; drizzle with 1/3 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce.
• Arrange 3 tortillas over enchilada sauce (tear and overlap as necessary, to make new layer). Press down slightly. Top with one-third each of the chicken, tomatoes, red onion, green chiles and cheese; drizzle with 1/3 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat to use up remaining tortillas and other ingredients.
• Bake uncovered about 40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

MEXICAN CHICKEN LASAGNA WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place a pan on a lower rack to catch any drippings.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna in the boiling water until pliable, about 3 minutes. Drain.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute chicken and onion in the hot oil until chicken is browned and no longer pink and onion is soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Combine cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese, and eggs in a bowl. Mix and add enough water for mixture to be soft and moist, but not runny (a little more wet than cottage cheese alone). Combine spaghetti sauce, salsa, green chiles, and cooked chicken mixture in another bowl. Stir.
• Create layers of chicken mixture, noodles, and cheese mixture in a 9x13-inch baking pan. Top with remaining Cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake continue to bake until bubbling and cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes. Top with cilantro.

NONA ELVIRA'S LASAGNA VERDE

Steps:

• For Ragu: Melt butter in large saucepan over mediu-high heat. Add carrots celery, and onion. Cook until soft, stirring often about 8 minutes. Add beef, veal and chicken livers. Cook until meats are cooked through, stirring often and breaking up lumps with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Whisk 2 cups water and tomato paste in small bowl. Add to meat mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Add wine. Bring to boil then reduce heat to medium. simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made ahead. Chill uncovered until cool, then cover and keep refrigerated.) For Bechamel: Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually whisk in milk, then truffle (if using); whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes. (Can be made one day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool, then cover and keep refrigerated.) For Lasagna: Preheat oven to 400. Cook lasagna noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain; rinse under cold running water. Pat noodles dry. Butter bottom and sides of 15×10x2 glass baking dish. cover bottom of dish with noodles. Spread 1/2 cup of bechamel over noodles. Spread one cup ragu over bechamel. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. Parmesan. Repeat 3 more times noodles, bechamel, ragu and cheese. Top with layer of noodles, spread remaining bechamel over, and sprinkle with 1/4 c. cheese. Drizzle with melted butter. Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated. Bake lasagna until bubbling at edges and golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, pour enough olive oil into heavy large saucepan to reach depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 375. Working in small batches, place spinach leaves in hot oil (will splatter). Fry spinach leaves 20 seconds. Using slotted spoon transfer fried spinach to paper towels. Garnish lasagna with fried spinach.