Pesto & Italian Sausage White Lasagna

Jul 27

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The basil is going absolutely bonkers in our garden! This is the first year in quite some time where we are filled to the brim with the beautiful, flavorful green leaves to use in our cooking. I am patiently awaiting the ripening of our tomatoes so that I can make some pasta sauce to can and store for winter.

For now, I can use all of this gorgeous basil to make pesto! I absolutely love basil pesto. I have shared pesto a few other ways on the blog in the past, like spinach pesto and dandelion greens pesto. But basil pesto, in my opinion, is the best. It’s the original! I decided to pair it with some delicious creamy white spinach sauce and Italian sausage.

the method:

This entire meal is a labor of love. Let me just begin with that. From scratch lasagna takes hours of work, but it is well worth the effort. And I didn’t even make the cheese this time!

Every time I make lasagna, I usually plan a full day around working on it. If that is not feasible for you, then I have some good news… You can easily make all of the components ahead of time and assemble them all at a later date! Isn’t that nice? The sauces and noodles can all be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or left to dry. Then put them all together later and bake.

If you do make everything on the same day, this is the order that I make everything in:

I make the pasta dough first. Then, I cover in plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter for at least 10 minutes but usually it rests for about 1 hour.
During this resting period, I will make the sauces. I make the pesto first, then the ricotta sauce, and then the white sauce.
Then, the sauces are put away and the noodles are rolled. I like to make mine just thin enough where I can almost see my hand through them.
Then the lasagna is assembled and baked!

make your lasagna ahead:

You can assemble the lasagna and bake it later. Once assembled, simply cover in plastic wrap and place the full lasagna into the fridge. It should stay fresh like this for about 2 to 3 days. You may notice that the pesto will become discolored, so I would recommend adding some lemon juice to the pesto before assembling.

This lasagna can also be frozen before baking! Assemble all of the components, wrap the lasagna pan in plastic wrap, and then cover in aluminum foil. Freeze for up to one year. When you are ready to bake, thaw the lasagna in the fridge and bake as normal.

final thoughts:

I absolutely love this meal! While I love a traditional lasagna with red sauce, sometimes it is nice to have a more subtle white sauce. I know that red sauce can give many people heartburn or acid reflux, so this is a great way to enjoy the flavors of delicious Italian lasagna while avoiding the stomach upset!

If you would like to make this lasagna vegetarian, simply omit the Italian sausage. It will turn out just fine!

xoxo Kayla

Sage & Italian Sausage White Lasagna

Yield: 9

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Prep time: 2 HourCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 3 H & 30 M

Ingredients

Noodles:

2 1/2 cups (312 g) all-purpose flour
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

White Spinach Sauce:

6 tbsp (87 g) salted butter
1 lb Italian sausage (optional)
3 garlic scapes or cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped finely
6 tbsp (47 g) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups (600 ml) chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Ricotta Cheese Sauce:

2 cups (420 g) ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped

Instructions

To make the noodles:

Mound the flour on your countertop or work surface and make a shallow well in the center. Crack the eggs and egg yolk into the well.
With a fork, begin to whisk the eggs into the flour. Then, with your hands or a bench scraper, start kneading the mixture into a dough. It will be a bit tough to knead at first, but keep working at it until a smooth, yellow and firm dough is created, about 10 minutes.
Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 1 hour. It can also be kept in the fridge for about 2 to 3 days.
When you are ready, roll your noodles. Divide the dough into 4 equal sized pieces. You can use a hand crank pasta roller, an electric one, or even roll the noodles by hand (though this is time consuming!). I like to roll mine to about a 6 with an electric pasta roller. This is when the dough is just beginning to become see through, where you can see your hand through it.
Roll all of the pasta until you have about 9 total lasagna noodles. Lay these out on a floured work surface, dusting the tops of the noodles with flour, and let them dry for at least 15 to 30 minutes before cooking with them.

To make the spinach sauce:

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage in the butter, if using, until it begins to brown. Add in the garlic scapes and onion, cooking until the onion is translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Dust everything in the flour and toss to coat.
Slowly add the broth, stirring constantly, and turning up the heat to bring the sauce to a boil. It should thicken rather quickly. Then, add in the milk and cream in a similar fashion. Once the sauce just begins to boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Stir in the spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook the sauce until the spinach has just wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and set aside.

To make the ricotta sauce:

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, egg, salt, and pepper. Fold in the parmesan, 2 cups of the mozzarella, and parsley.

To assemble the lasagna:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Spread a few tablespoons of the white spinach sauce over the bottom of the pan. Lay in the first 3 noodles.
Spread about 1/3 of the white spinach sauce over the noodles. Then, spread on half of the ricotta cheese sauce. Layer the next noodles. Repeat these layers one more time.
On the final layer, spread over the remaining white spinach sauce. Then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the top of the lasagna.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 1 hour or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F. Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown on top.
Let the lasagna rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.