Zucchini lasagna

To prepare lasagna with zucchini, start with the fresh pasta: place the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, add the eggs 1 and stir the flour in with a fork 2. Once the liquid part is absorbed, start kneading by hand 3.

Place on a pastry board and knead for around 10 minutes 4. Wrap it in plastic wrap once smooth 5 and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes 6.

In the meantime prepare the bechamel: start by heating the milk and delicately melting the butter 7. Add the flour all in one go 8 and stir with a whisk 9.

Pour in the hot milk after 1-2 minutes 10, stirring all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Continue stirring for around 5 minutes until the sauce takes on the right consistency 11. Once cooked, flavor with salt and nutmeg and cover with plastic wrap so as to avoid a skin from forming 12.

Now prepare the zucchini: leave 0.8 cups to one side for later, tip 13 and thinly slice the remaining ones with a mandolin 14. Now tip the zucchini you left to one side and coarsely chop them up 15.

Place them in the bowl of a mixer 16 and add the previously washed basil, some salt 17and the oil 18.

Blend the ingredients into a smooth and homogeneous cream with an immersion blender 19. Leave to one side 20. Now take the piece of pasta dough and divide it in half; keep the half you are not using covered in the plastic wrap 21.

Briefly knead the piece of dough with a pinch of flour and then feed it through the rolls of a pasta machine 22: start on the thickest setting and gradually work your way down to the thinnest one 23. Cut the resulting pasta sheets into rectangles that are roughly 3.5"x6.2" in size 24.

Place your pasta sheets on a tray lined with a lightly dampened cloth 25. Now you can compose the lasagna: take a 8"x12" baking tray and add a layer of bechamel on the bottom 26. Add the first layer of pasta sheets 27.

Spread some more bechamel over it 28 and add the zucchini pieces so that they are facing in the opposite direction from the pasta 29. Add salt, pepper and a sprinkling of grated cheese 30.

Now add a few spoons of zucchini cream 31 and proceed with another layer of pasta, bechamel 32, salt, pepper and cheese and lastly, the zucchini cream 33. Continue until you finish all the ingredients.

Pour any remaining bechamel and zucchini cream over the last layer of zucchini, sprinkle with cheese 34: it is ready to be baked. Bake lasagna with zucchini in a static oven preheated to 392F for around 40 minutes + 4-5 minutes under the grill for a nice and golden surface 35. Leave to rest for 5 minutes after baking, then sprinkle the basil over it and serve 36.