Pesto Lasagna

I have a huge basil section in my herb garden, both purple and green basil, sweet and Italian basil. I love basil so much! No surprise to my husband that I came up with a pesto lasagna. It's super yummy. It's definitely not a meal, unless you fiend for pesto, but it'd be a nice side dish :)

For the pesto:

• 4 cups basil leaves, loosely packed, washed and tough stems trimmed and roughly torn
• 2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 2 ounces)
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the lasagna:

• 1 pound fresh lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1-ounce)

For the pesto: Combine half pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until evenly combined, about 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and process until evenly blended, about 1 more minute. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired.

For the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees F and arrange rack in upper third.

Meanwhile, alternatively layer a scant 1/4 cup pesto and 1 sheet of fresh lasagna noodles in an 8 by 8-inch baking dish, trimming noodles, as needed, to fit. There should be about 10 to 12 layers. Top lasagna with cheese and bake until bubbly around edges and cheese is melted, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.

Alfredo

For those of you who know me, Alfredo is my F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E food! If I could, I would eat it every day... but that's not realistic. :) This is a rich, creamy, succulent recipe that I got from the Olive Garden website. It's EASY to make but you need to be patient when you temper the egg yolks or you'll have lumpy sauce (from the cooked yolks). This is from personal experience :) It's totally doable though. I have been making this for about 10 years. Enjoy!

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup imported Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup imported Romano cheese, grated
6 egg yolks from fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering).

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.
This sauce is for a serving of 4.