deconstructed lasagna Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Little Lasagnas with Tomato, Burrata and Pesto

This recipe was inspired by a photo I saw in La Cucina Italiana magazine, many years ago and although my version is much more simplified than the original, because I used some store-bought ingredients, I can assure you nothing lacked in the flavor department.

This recipe is such a hit each time I make it, it’s lighter than traditional lasagne and perfect for the summer months, and with creamy burrata adorning it, what’s not to like?

Being able to purchase fresh lasagna sheets and good quality pesto is key to the simplicity and taste, a quick 2 minute boil for the pasta then cooled down in ice water and patted dry.

The ingredients consist of fresh pasta sheets that are scattered with roasted tomatoes along with their lovely juice, dollops of store-bought basil pesto (not pictured here), grated parmesan or Pecorino, another drizzle of olive oil and of course the main character, burrata cheese!

You can do 2 or 3 layers at a time but I prefer three. You can assemble them on parchment paper that has been brushed with olive oil on a baking sheet, if you’re making quite a few, but I have made this several times since 2012 ( the 2 bottom pictures have been updated in 2019) when I first posted this and now I’ve come to love baking them in individual small casserole dishes.

I just oil the bottom and sides of the baking dish then spread a couple of spoonfuls of marinara on the bottom, then the layering starts.

Pasta sheet, roasted tomatoes with some of their juice, pesto, torn burrata and either Pecorino or Parmigiana sprinkled all over.

Because everything is precooked all you have to do is basically heat them through in a 450 oven until the burrata has melted and the edges are golden, somewhere around 15 minutes or so. Garnish with chopped basil and a few whole roasted tomatoes, ( because it gives a pretty presentation ) and serve immediately!

This is fantastic for a dinner party or a pretty quick mid week meal, just add a fresh green salad along with some crusty bread!

Buon Appetito!

Deconstructed Grilled Veggie Lasagna w/ Romesco Sauce

Everything you see here I happened to have leftover in my frig. Grilled veggies, a cup or so of ricotta, a couple pieces of fresh mozzarella, a handful of spinach, and some need to be used up ASAP! fresh pasta sheets. I can’t stand to waste good food!

I also happened to have about 2 cups left of this awesome Romesco sauce I made for the baby shower, courtesy of my friend Stacey’s recipe.

Romesco sauce is intensely flavored by using roasted red peppers, almonds or sometimes hazelnuts, a couple of crusty bread slices, olive oil and garlic and a few other things all whizzed up in a food processor. This stuff is terrific! It goes excellent with grilled protein of any kind as well as grilled veggies.

So with the small amounts of ingredients I happened to have on hand I decided to make a lasagna in a deconstructed way, as you can see in the first photo it was really easy to do. I can’t even explain how good this was, you’ll just have to try it! Seriously, the hubby and I loved it.
The sauce was the star of the show and the flavors blended so well with everything. The only thing I changed up in the sauce was that I used some roasted garlic instead of raw.

As for the lasagna, I would recommend fresh pasta sheets if you can get them, but I’m sure it would be fine with dry, but please don’t use the no boil!

We thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this, I’ll definitely be making this again!

Buon Appetito!