Green Tea Pesto Potato Lasagna with Spinach

Instructions

Prep the Green Tea Pesto Sauce, Spinach, and Potatoes:

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and set it over medium-high heat. Cook until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan – just before it boils. Remove from the heat and add 4 bags of green tea, dunking the bags in the milk to soak. Let stand.
2. Add the prepared pesto to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Cut open the 10 remaining bags of tea and dump the loose tea into the pesto. Process for about 20 seconds to blend.
3. Fill a large saucepan with water, sprinkle in about 1 tablespoon of salt, and set it over high heat. Peel the potatoes and slice them into very thin slices – about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. (This is easiest to do with a mandolin.) When the water begins to boil, drop in the potato slices. Let cook for 6-7 minutes, until tender.
4. Drain the potatoes in a colander set in the sink.
5. Add the oil to the saucepan you just cooked the potatoes in and set it back over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add 1/2 tsp of the crushed red pepper and the garlic, stirring them around in the oil for about 10 seconds. Add the spinach. Stir it around briefly, then leave it alone for 1-2 minutes, to allow the bottom leaves to wilt. Cook stirring constantly, for 2 minutes longer, until all the leaves are completely wilted. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of salt.
6. Lift the tea bags from the milk and squeeze out some of the milk they’ve soaked up. Discard tea bags.
7. Add the butter to a medium sized heavy bottom saucepan and set it over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour, remaining 2 tsp crushed red pepper, 1 & 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp ground black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk very slowly, bit by bit, whisking constantly. When all the milk has been added, return the pan to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the milk begins to boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the green tea pesto and 1 & 3/4 cups of the parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Prepare the Lasagna:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add the ricotta, Italian seasoning, eggs, and 1 tsp of salt to a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Spread about 1/4 cup of green tea pesto sauce over the bottom of a 9×13 rectangle baking dish. Lay 4 lasagna noodles over the pesto sauce. Spoon about one third of the remaining pesto sauce over the pasta, spreading it out into an even layer.
4. Dollop half of the ricotta mixture over the pesto sauce, and spread it out into an even layer. Top with half of the spinach, then half of the potatoes, spreading each into an even layer. Sprinkle with one third of the mozzarella cheese.
5. Add another layer of 4 sheets of lasagna noodles. Use both hands to press down on the noodles, compacting the layers beneath them. Spread the pasta with another third of the pesto sauce, and top with the rest of the spinach. Dollop the rest of the ricotta over the spinach and spread it out into an even layer. Top with the remaining potatoes and another third of the mozzarella cheese.
6. Add another 4 sheets of lasagna noodles. Once again, use both hands to press down on the noodles, compacting the layers beneath them. Spread the rest of the pesto sauce over the noodles, top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
7. Set the lasagna on a baking sheet (just in case there are any drips). Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick baking spray and loosely cover the lasagna. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted and beginning to brown, and the pesto sauce is bubbling up around the edges of the baking dish.
8. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.