Spinach Pine Nut Lasagne Recipes

Steps:

• First make the white sauce. Melt the butter and flour together in a big saucepan, and cook the paste for a couple of mins. Add the bay leaves, then gradually whisk in the milk, little by little, until you have a nice smooth sauce. Bubble for a few mins, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the bay leaf, cover with cling film (lay it directly onto the sauce) until ready to use.
• Gently cook the onions in the oil until really soft. Put the kettle on. Put half the spinach in a big colander and pour over the boiling water to wilt. Repeat with the rest of the spinach, let it cool a little then squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the spinach. Roughly chop and stir into the onions with the ricotta, a small ladle of the white sauce and most of the parmesan. Season well.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spread a quarter of the sauce into the base of a big baking dish, then dollop over a third of the spinach mixture. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, then repeat the layers - a quarter of the sauce, third of the spinach mix and some lasagne sheets. Finish with the remaining sauce and scatter over the remaining parmesan. Bake for 40-50 mins until the lasagne is cooked through and the top golden, scattering over the pine nuts with 10 mins to go.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the squash and garlic into a large roasting tin or dish (you can use the same one to assemble the lasagne to save on washing-up - ours was 35 x 40cm and 5cm deep). Tear over 4-5 sage leaves, drizzle with the oil and season well, then toss to coat. Roast for 40-50 mins, moving the squash around once or twice, until soft and caramelised. Squeeze the garlic from the skins and mash with the squash, leaving a few chunky bits for texture.
• Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and stir in the flour to make a sandy paste. Splash a little milk into the pan, stirring continuously to prevent lumps. Keep adding more milk, a little at a time, until the paste thins to a smooth, creamy sauce and the milk has all been used. Simmer for 1 min more. Stir in the mascarpone and half the parmesan. Season well and grate in a generous amount of nutmeg.
• Tip the spinach into a colander and pour over a kettleful of boiling water to wilt (do this in batches). Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach over the colander to remove the water, then season and roughly chop.
• Remove half of the crushed garlicky squash from the roasting tin and set aside on a plate. Spread the remaining squash out over the base of the tin or dish you intend to serve the lasagne in. Ladle over about a quarter of the sauce, then top with a single layer of lasagne sheets, snapping them to fill any gaps. Make an even layer of spinach on top of the pasta, and top with another quarter of the sauce, more pasta, squash, sauce, pasta and finally the remaining white sauce.
• Scatter over the remaining parmesan, the mozzarella and pine nuts. If the oven is off, heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook the lasagne for 30 mins. Rub a little extra oil over 5 or 6 sage leaves, place them on top of the lasagne and return to the oven for another 15-20 mins until golden and bubbling. Leave to cool for 5 mins before serving.

Steps:

• Wash the spinach, but allow the water to cling to the leaves. Cook the spinach until it wilts in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach, pine nuts, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Season with pepper and serve.

Steps:

• Wash the spinach thoroughly and cram into a large pan. Pour over a little boiling water, cover tightly and cook for 2-3 mins, until the leaves have wilted.
• Tip into a colander and drain well. Use the side of a small plate to press the spinach down to extract the last of the water. If using frozen, defrost in the microwave and drain.
• Meanwhile heat the oil, add the pine nuts and fry until golden. Add the garlic and fry briefly, then stir in the spinach and stir until heated through. Season and serve in a warm side dish.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C (Fan forced).
• Place the milk, butter, flour and bay leaf together in a saucepan, giving it a good season.
• Heat over a medium heat, whisking the whole lot continuously until it comes to a simmer point and has thickened. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the parmesan and remove the flyleaf; set aside.
• Remove the stalks from the spinach and wash thoroughly.
• In a large saucepan put the knob of butter and spinach leaves together, put a lid on and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, making sure the leaves dont burn.
• Drain the spinach in a colander and allow to cool. Squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach and chop finely.
• In a bowl combine the chopped spinach, ricotta, cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and add the cheddar.
• In a small frying pan over a medium heat and add the pine nuts and dry fry for about 1 minute to toast them.
• To assemble the lasagna spread a 1/4 of the sauce into the bottom of a ovenproof dish (23cm x 23cm).
• Add a 1/4 of the spinach mixture, followed by a scattering a pine nuts and 1/4 of the mozzarella. Now place lasagna sheets on top, they may need to be torn to fit the dish.
• Repeat the process until all ingredients are layered, finishing with a layer of pasta, the rest of the sauce and the remaining cheese.
• Place in the oven and cook for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbling.
• Remove from the oven and allow to settle for 10 minutes.