Christmas Burrata & Pesto Lasagna
a festive Christmas lasagna – layered with ricotta cheese, tomato sauce, basil-spinach pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, and baked with burrata on top
servings: 12
Ingredients
Scale
Basil-Spinach Pesto
- 1 oz fresh basil
- 2 oz spinach
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- ¾ cup olive oil
Lasagna
- olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 (28-oz) cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 oregano sprigs
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ lbs dry lasagna pasta sheets
- 1 lb whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 ¼ lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup grated parmesan
- 1 ball burrata cheese
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- oregano leaves, to garnish
Instructions
Basil-Spinach Pesto
- Combine the basil, spinach, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
- With the processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
Lasagna
- Heat a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onions and shallots. Season with a good pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Sauté until tender and caramelized.
- Stir in the tomatoes, oregano sprigs, and red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce for 25 minutes. Season to taste and turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, drop the sheets of lasagna into a large pot of boiling, salted water. Stir well and boil for 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and run under cold water until the sheets have cooled off.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease a 9x13x3” baking dish with olive oil. Assemble the lasagna in the following order with the different portions of each ingredient (see photos for reference).
- 9 sheets pasta (one even layer, slightly over-lapping)
- 1/3 ricotta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- ¼ pesto
- ¼ mozzarella
- 1/3 parmesan
- 9 sheets pasta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- 9 sheets pasta
- 1/3 ricotta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- ¼ pesto
- ¼ mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 parmesan
- 9 sheets pasta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- 9 sheets pasta
- 1/3 ricotta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- ¼ pesto
- ¼ mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 parmesan
- 9 sheets pasta
- 1/6 tomato sauce
- ¼ pesto
- ¼ mozzarella cheese
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F and remove the foil from the baking dish. Tear the burrata into pieces and distribute across the lasagna. Continue to bake for another 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Turn the oven to high broil and broil for about 2-3 minutes longer until golden. To serve, cut the lasagna into square pieces. Garnish with more freshly cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of oregano leaves.