Mmmm Lasagne! My favourite dish ever. Growing up my parents and I would make Lasagne for big occasions, like Christmas or birthdays. And they would always be the classic meat version (you can find my recipe here). Well, lately I have been making all sorts of Lasagne. Remember my Pesto Lasagne (my all time favourite!), or my Green Lasagne with Stracchino, Artichokes and Sausage? It is spring down here and zucchini are in season… so I decided to use them to make this delicious, cheesy Lasagne. This dish can be easily turned into a vegetarian meal by omitting the Speck: it tastes just as good. If you cannot find smoked scamorza where you live, substitute it with smoked mozzarella or any smoked cheese that melts and oozes like mozzarella when baked. This was a winner and I will be making it again soon! On a completely different note… have you entered yet to win a copy of my eBook Manu’s Christmas Menus?? Click here for your chance to win! Enjoy my zucchini based lasagne!
Lasagne with Zucchini Pesto, Speck and Smoked Scamorza
How to make a delicious Lasagne with zucchini pesto, speck and smoked scamorza!
Ingredients
Zucchini Pesto
- 500 gms – 1.1 lbs. zucchini sliced
- 60 gms – 4 tbsp pistachios
- 30 ml – 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 30 ml – 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 60 ml – 4 tbsp water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Béchamel Sauce
- 1 + lt – 34+ oz. Béchamel made with 1 lt and 150 ml – 39 oz. milk, 100 gms – 3.5 oz. butter and 100 gms – 3.5 oz. flour, salt and nutmeg
To Assemble
- Lasagne sheets made with 200 gms – 7 oz. flour and 2 eggs – I used a little bit more than half, you can freeze the remaining Lasagne sheets
- Zucchini Pesto
- Béchamel sauce
- 80 gms – 2.8 oz. Italian speck sliced
- 220 gms – 7.75 oz. smoked scamorza grated
- 100 gms – 3.5 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano thinly grated
Instructions
Zucchini Pesto
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Slice the zucchini, spray them with a little extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake them in the oven at 180°C – 355°F for 30 minutes.
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Béchamel
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Make the béchamel sauce as per my tutorial.
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To Assemble
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Prepare the lasagne sheets as per my instructions on How to make egg pasta dough and How to make lasagne sheets.
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Cut the sliced speck into thin vertical pieces and sauté it in a hot pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, until crispy. Keep aside.
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When ready to assemble put a large pot with salty water on the fire and bring to a boil.
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Cook the pasta sheets in it for 1 minute. Do this in batches (I use a shallow but large pot and I cook them in 1 layer, so I am sure they do not stick together).
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Now you are all set to start assembling your lasagne. Start with a layer of béchamel sauce at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Add a layer of cooled pasta sheets, making sure not to overlap them. Now cover them with a layer of béchamel sauce, zucchini pesto, speck, smoked scamorza and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Add another layer of pasta and repeat the layers until you run out of pasta. On the last layer (the top most layer), only add béchamel sauce and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
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Cook the lasagne in a pre heated oven at 180°C – 355°F for 20 minutes, then grill for 5 to 10 minutes until the top gets golden brown. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
You can assemble your lasagne the day before you serve them. Store them in the fridge and remember to take them out a few hours before baking them (you have to bring them back to room temperature) to make sure they do not remain cold on the inside even after they are baked.
Love the idea of making zucchini pesto for the dish. I have a piece of speck in the fridge and have been wondering what to make with it. I think this will be a winner with my son. Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful dish. I saw speck at the deli this morning and I talked myself out of buying some. Now I have a reason to go back.
omg what a perfect top layer of browned bechamel sauce! The inclusion of scamorza and zucchini pesto sounds lush too.
Oh, that is a delightful lasagna and a nice change from the meaty one!
Hi Manu! Found your site in twitter and I am glad I visited! Your dishes looks yum and I will definitely learn how to prepare authentic Italian recipes from you. I will be visiting often.