White Spinach Lasagna

Spread the love

White lasagna or Lasagna in Bianco is a great variation on traditional lasagna. My version add some color and flavor by making homemade spinach pasta sheets. To me, this version screams Spring and I love serving it for Easter dinner.

White Spinach Lasagna

A delicious variation on traditional lasagna.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword lasagna, lasagna in bianco, white lasagna, white spinach lasagna

Ingredients

Spinach Pasta

400 g Semola Rimacinata Flour or 00 flour
3 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Blanched Spinach

Bechamel Sauce

3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp AP Flour
3 cups Whole Milk/2% Milk
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg
1/3 cup Grated Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano

Filling

16 oz Whole Milk Ricotta, Drained
5 slices Deli Ham, diced
1 lb Ground Sausage Meat
16 oz Fresh Mozzarella
1/2 cup Blanched Spinach

Instructions

DAY BEFORE INSTRUCTIONS!

The night before you are going to make this recipe, place the ricotta onto a strainer with a cheese cloth. Place it over a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator. Honestly, I prefer to do it for two days if you have the time.

Bechamel Sauce

Warm your milk in the microwave for about a minute and a half.
To a small pot, add butter to melt, once melted add the flower and whisk vigorously so that no lumps form. Once the flour has cooked for a couple of minutes, slowly add in warm milk.
Keep whisking until all the milk has been added. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then switch to a wooden spoon and cook on medium heated stirring continuously until the mixture has thicken about 4-5 mins.
Once thickened, add in the grated cheese and turn off the heat. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Set aside until assembly.

Spinach Pasta

Prepare an ice bath. Bring water to a boil. Blanch a 20oz of fresh spinach in salted boiling water for 2 mins. Remove and place into an ice bath immediately.
Squeeze as much water as possible from the spinach.
Add eggs and 1/2 cup of spinach to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add semola flour to a kneading surface, make a well in the center. Pour the spinach/egg mixture into the well and begin mixing with a fork. Once it is too hard to mix, switch to your hands and begin to incorporate the rest of the flour and knead until you achieve a smooth dough ball, about 5-10 mins.
Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 mins.
After 30 mins, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Take one piece and cover the rest in the plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.
Using a pasta machine, roll the piece on the first setting a few times folding it over onto itself to work it smooth.
Then move through the settings until you reach your desired thickness. Lasagna sheets should not be too thin. I have a kitchenmaid pasta attachment and I went up to #4 thickness.
Place on a well floured baking sheet and cover while you prepare the filling ingredients. I usually place parchment paper into between the sheets so they don't stick together.

Filling & Assembly

Dice the ham and mozzarella and set aside.
Cook the sausage in a fry pan with a little olive oil. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt it well. Boil the lasagna sheets for 3-4 mins and then drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Lay out on paper towels to dry them out.
Preheat the oven to 400℉.
To a 9×12 baking pan, add some béchamel sauce to the bottom. Add 2 sheets of spinach pasta, cut the length if necessary.
Add more béchamel sauce on top of the pasta and 4 dollops of Ricotta. Spread the ricotta out.
Then add some ham, sausage, spinach and mozzarella. Repeat this layering process until you have reached the rim of the pan.
Top it with more béchamel and freshly grated parmigiano.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400℉ for 45 mins – 1 hour until bubbling. Then remove the foil and place under the broiler until browned at bit on top.
And now for the hard part! Let it rest for 20 mins before cutting.