Lasagna Cupcakes With Pesto Sauce Food

LASAGNA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Drain and discard grease from the beef.
• Cut wonton wrappers into 2 1/4-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. Press one wonton into the bottom of each muffin cup. Sprinkle even amounts of Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese into each muffin cup; top each portion with even amounts of ground beef and pasta sauce.
• Divide 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, half the ricotta cheese, 1/2 the ground beef mixture, and 1/2 cup pasta sauce, between the muffin cups and layer, respectively, atop the wonton wrapper; repeat layering with remaining wonton wrappers, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, remaining ricotta cheese, remaining ground beef, and remaining pasta sauce. Top the 'cupcakes' with remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until edges of 'cupcakes' are browned, 18 to 20 minutes; let cook in tins for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the cupcakes to loosen the edges to remove. Garnish with fresh basil to serve.

LASAGNA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the meat sauce: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until it shimmers. Add the whole cloves and cinnamon stick, and remove after a few minutes. Add the garlic and onions, sprinkle with a little salt and saute until softened but not browned.
• Add the sausage, breaking up the clumps with your spoon. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, as well as some salt and pepper. Stir to combine and simmer uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. Allow the meat sauce to cool, about 15 minutes, before building lasagna cupcakes. As the meat sauce is cooking, prepare the ricotta filling.
• For the ricotta filling: Stir together the mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta and mango chutney. Season with salt and lots of pepper, about a teaspoon, and set aside.
• To assemble the cupcakes: Pull out your favorite cupcake pan. If your pan is not nonstick, spray the cups with cooking spray. Place a wonton wrapper in each cup. Don't worry if you're using square ones.
• Drop about 1 teaspoon of meat sauce into the bottom of each cup. Then add 1 teaspoon of ricotta filling. Then cover with another wonton wrapper, rotating it about 90-degrees so that the corners of the first wrapper and the second wrapper aren't right on top of each other. Repeat this until you've built three layers total. Top each with a small basil leaf, then another wonton wrapper. Finish each cupcake with a spoonful of meat sauce, a little shredded mozzarella and pinch of grated Parmesan.
• Pop them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. When time's up, resist the temptation to eat them right away or else you'll burn your mouth! Let them rest on the counter for about 10 minutes, and they should slip out of the muffin tin easily. Top with more shredded basil if you like.

LASAGNA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• To start the lasagnas: Cook hamburger meat, season to taste, drain.
• Reserve 8 tablespoons of Parmesan and 8 tablespoons of mozzarella-this will be the topping. The remaining cheese will be used in the lasagnas (note you can vary the amount of cheese to taste keeping in mind that the parmesan is salty, the mozzarella is sweet as well as salty and helps to hold the lasagnas together, and the ricotta is sweet and creamy).
• Start assembling the lasagnas. Line each cupcake mold with a round wonton wrapper. Put a little Parmesan, a little mozzarella, and a little ricotta into each mold. Top with a little meat and a spoonful of sauce. Repeat layers of wonton wrappers, cheeses, meat and sauce, creating 6 layers in all, and ending with sauce. Sprinkle each lasagna with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella.
• Bake until the lasagnas are nicely browned, about 20 minutes. Serve warm garnished with cherry tomatoes and basil leaves.

PESTO LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in the olive oil until tender. Add spinach and stir. Remove from heat and stir in the pesto. In a large bowl mix ricotta cheese, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• In a 3 quart greased baking dish, layer the noodles then the spinach mixture, followed by the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Repeat the layers ending with noodles on top. Spread the Alfredo sauce over the top and sprinkle with parmesan.
• Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes.

PESTO LASAGNE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 13 by 9 by 4 baking dish and add a thin layer of besciamella (bechamel sauce). Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, and then another thin layer of besciamella. Gently spread about 4 tablespoons pesto across the surface, and then top with about 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Repeat until you finish layering the lasagne. Top with a final layer of noodles and spread a final very thin layer besciamella, pesto, Parmesan cheese and a little butter to help the cheese crisp-up when cooked in the oven.
• Cook the lasagne for about 30 minutes. Serve dressed with some Parmesan and a drop of extra-virgin olive oil.
• Fresh Pesto: Combine the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil in a mortar and pestle and pound until paste forms. Add the Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese, salt and pepper and stir until smooth.
• Keep the pesto in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
• Mix the pasta and the pesto...serve garnished with some grated Parmesan (just a touch), fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil.
• Besciamella: Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook's Note: This is an important moment, as you have to slowly toast the flour without burning it. This will help you lose the floury taste.
• Warm up the milk and gradually ladle into the pot with the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly while bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season the sauce with freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

LASAGNA CUPCAKES WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown meat in a dry hot pan stirring to break up meat.
• Meanwhile add oil to a pan just to barely cover bottom. Add the peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic saute about 5 minutes just until onions are translucent.
• Add the browned beef to the veggies mixture and toss in the pesto sauce. Set aside.
• Remove 3 tablespoons of each of the grated cheeses placing in a bowl, mix to combine, set aside.
• Mix the remaining cheese mixture ingredients together. Set aside.
• Brush cupcake pans with olive oil or spray with a non stick spray. Garlic oil is yummy!
• Start to layer the lasagnas, starting with the wonton wrappers, cheese, meat mixture, repeat till all ingredients are used.
• Pressing each wonton to spread the mixture throughout each layer.
• Top each cake with the cheese mixture that you set aside.
• Place on a cookie sheet pan and bake 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Garnish with tomato and basil leaf.

BAKED PESTO LASAGNA

Steps:

• Boil the noodles in well salted water until al dente. Drain well, and lay all the strips out to dry on paper towels.
• Wash basil leaves well in several changes of water. Blanch in boiling water just until limp. Using a slotted spoon, immediately plunge into ice water to cool. Drain again and squeeze dry. Place in blender with parsley, garlic and oil, and purée until smooth. Season with pepper to taste, and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Raise heat and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth. Stir in the Parmigiano. Let cool slightly, then stir in the pesto until completely blended.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spoon a little of the pesto sauce over the bottom of the pan. Line with 3 strips of the noodles. With a rubber spatula, top each strip evenly with sauce. Sprinkle with about a quarter of the mozzarella and Monterey Jack. Repeat with three more layers, using all the noodles, and most of the sauce and cheese. Pour all the remaining sauce over, smoothing the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Cover pan tightly with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.