White Lasagna
Adapted from chef Jeffrey Simonetta
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 10
- 50g/1.7ozs butter
- 50g/1.7ozs flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups/500ml/16.9flozs. milk, hot
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8ozs cream
- 1.5 cups/80g/3ozs grated parmigiano-reggiano, divided in 3
- 375g/13ozs. ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 375g/13ozs. fresh lasagna sheets
- 2x 400g/14oz tins of European cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups/240g/8ozs grated mozzarella
- 270g/9.5ozs semi dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 190°C/374F. Lightly grease a 34cm x 24cm baking tray with olive oil. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir into a thick paste. Cook this for 2 mins until the paste becomes a lighter colour.
Step 2 -Next slowly add in the milk, and cream, using a whisk to combine thoroughly into a smooth mix. Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture boils and becomes thicker, into a sauce-like consistency, stirring frequently. Once thickened, stir in 1/2 cup of the parmigiano-reggiano.
Step 3 -Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano, lemon zest and the chives and mix until well blended.
Step 4 -To build the lasagna, spread a thin layer of the white sauce in the baking dish. Lay 2-3 of the fresh pasta sheets crosswise over the sauce (trim them if you need to - they won't cover the entire base of the tray, but will expand during baking). Spread some of the ricotta mixture across the pasta sheets. Scatter evenly with some of the semi dried tomatoes. Pour some of the white sauce over, the top with a layer of the cannellini beans. Repeat the layers as many times as required to fill the tray just below the top. For the final layer, finish with the remaining white sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and the remaining 1/2 cup of the parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
Step 5 -Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and lightly browned (the temperature in centre should be 75°C/167°F). Let this stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes, ideally 1 hour, before cutting to serve. I like to bake this a day ahead of time and keep it in the fridge so that it cuts cleanly and flavours develop. To reheat cook in a 180C/350F oven for 40 minutes.