Puttanesca Pesto Lasagna

Ingredients

10 Tbsp butter

6 cups of room-temperature milk (better to use whole milk but can use 2%)

½ cup flour

Coarse salt and black pepper to taste

Pinch ground nutmeg

16oz/450g box of flat lasagna noodle

Olive oil to boil pasta

25oz/700g bottle of store-bought Puttanesca sauce

7oz/190g bottle of store-bought pesto sauce

16oz/450g log of fresh mozzarella

1½ cups freshly grated Reggiano parmesan

Instructions

For the pasta

Bring a large pot of water to the boil;

Add a generous amount of salt and olive oil;

Add the noodles in batches of 10 to avoid them sticking together;

Stir occasionally, and boil the noodles for five to six minutes to soften;

Place them onto a dishcloth, and repeat with the remaining noodles.

For the sauce

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat;

Add the flour, and whisk to dissolve;

Whisk in room-temperature milk;

Increase the heat to medium-high;

Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about seven minutes;

Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

To assemble

Butter a baking dish;

Pour in ⅓ of puttanesca sauce to cover the bottom of the dish;

Add a layer of lasagna sheets, ⅓ of the béchamel sauce, and another layer of lasagna;

Top with mozzarella broken into pieces, half the bottle of pesto, and remaining puttanesca sauce;

Top with lasagna sheets, one third of the béchamel sauce, lasagna sheets, béchamel, and remaining half bottle of pesto;

Cover with freshly grated parmesan;

Preheat oven to 450F/230C;

Cover tightly with foil;

Bake for 30 minutes;

Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden brown and crispy – about 30 minutes longer;

Let stand for 10 minutes.

Serves 10-12

Notes

Use room-temperature butter and milk so béchamel sauce thickens quickly. If you use cold milk and butter, it will take sauce longer to cook. Cook lasagna noodles in batches so they don’t stick together. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Best not to freeze, but can freeze and thaw before cooking.