The Zelda Gourmet: pesto

Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts

Eenie and Meenie's garden is looking pretty good these days. So today, I thought we could share a great vegetarian lasagna recipe that uses some great vegetables. Enjoy!

Gear!
2 small Zucchini Squash
8 oz. Ricotta cheese
4 T. Pesto (recipe here)
1 Egg
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups of Spaghetti Sauce
1 cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
2 cups Spinach Leaves
Box of Oven Ready GF Lasagna Noodles
Salt and Pepper

Quest!

Slice zucchini 3/16 thick with a mandeline. Be careful to use the guarding to keep your digits safe.

Place zucchini slices on paper towels and set a side to dry in the refrigerator for about 4 hrs.

In the meantime, let's make some cheese filling.
Mix together, ricotta cheese, 1cup mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, pesto, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In the bottom of a 8x8 pan place about 1/3 of sauce.

Add a layer of lasagna noodles.

Add a layer of cheese mixture.

Add another layer of lasagna noodles. Followed by a layer of spinach leaves.

Add a layer of zucchini slices

Add a layer of roasted red peppers

Add another 1/3 of the sauce.

Continue layering until you run out of room.. Top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese.

From here you can freeze this delight and bake another day at 400 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes.

Or, you can bake it now at 400 degrees F for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

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Since we are on the tangent of Ordon goat cheese, we will utilize the awesome pesto that we made on our last quest to create an easy, but fancy pasta dish your family will love.

The Gear:
1/3 cup Ordon Goat Cheese Pesto Get Recipe Here.
4 oz. Prosciutto Ham torn into small pieces
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
17.6 oz. Gluten Free Gnocchi
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

The Quest:

In a large nonstick pan, add a little olive oil and begin to crisp up your prosciutto pieces over medium low heat. This will help to render any fat. In the meantime, start a pot of boiling water to cook the gnocchi.

Once the prosciutto is crispy, drop your Gnocchi in the boiling water, salting the water first. Cook according to the directions, mine called for two minutes.

Scoop the Gnoochi into the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the cooking liquid in the pot. Don't forget to turn off the pot. If you feel the need to dump out your pasta water, save about 1/2 cup for later.

Turning up the pan to medium, toss the gnocchi's in the pan with the prosciutto for a few minutes letting them take on the flavors in the pan. Add the frozen peas and let them steam up and cook for just a minute. Then add the Ordon goat cheese pesto. Stir and add a ladle of the salted pasta water. Stir until the goat cheese melts and creates a nice sauce. Check salt and pepper.

Serve with a nice salad and some focaccia bread. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Get the printable recipe here!

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Have you ever thought about the Ordon goats? They must have oodles of goat cheese everywhere. In order to help consume all this delicious goat cheese, I have come up with a recipe that can be used as a dip or a tasty dinner option - Pesto!

The Gear:

4 oz. Basil leaves

1/2 cup Pine Nuts

2 Garlic Cloves, peeled

1 Serrano Peppers

1 T. Lemon Juice

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

6 oz. Goat Cheese with Herbs

The Quest:

Clean your basil. Whether you purchased it in the store or picked it from the garden, you should remove all the larger stems and rinse it in a colander until running water to remove any sand or dirt.

Thoroughly dry the basil leaves - I used a salad spinner, but blotting with paper towels could work too.

In the food processor, add your garlic and whole pepper (remove the stem). If you don't want yours so spicy, you will have to remove the seeds. Pulse about 5 times to get everything chopped small.

When you remove the lid, you may be taken aback from the strong garlic and pepper smell. This is fine, and it won't be as spicy when we are done because of the goat cheese. Add in the Pine Nuts and lemon juice. Pulse another 5 times to grind the nuts.

Add in the basil leaves, salt and pepper. Begin pulsing. Stream in olive oil through the top as you pulse. It will really pull together and make a consistent texture. Just keep checking.

At this point, you have spicy pesto, which is good, but to make it extra special and feature a major Ordon staple, we will now add the goat cheese to the food processor. Pulse 10 times to fully incorporate the goat cheese.

There you have it! Enjoy this as an appetizer dip or a great pasta sauce.

Do you know how to store extra?

I freeze the extra in these silicone ice cube like trays that come with a lid.

Find it on Amazon Here

Well, I hope you enjoyed this week's recipe! Printable Version Here

If you like the Zelda Gourmet, become an email follower or Google +1 so that you get the newest recipes when they come out. Also Like us on Facebook and Share this with your friends.