I should warn you, I’m a little crazy about basil. The smell of it holds such strong associations of summer that I automatically go to my happy place whenever I pick a few leaves and rub them between my fingers. Lately I’ve been making some of my classic basil-laced dishes like the indispensable chickpea salad since basil is so plentiful right now. Here on this page I present to you a sort of summer lasagne that makes use of a healthy dose of basil alongside sweet corn, another staple of summer eating. Lemon zest makes it interesting.
One of the things I love most about making this recipe is that the directions are to: a) put everything in a food processor b) layer with the no-boil noodles and c) top with cheese. Bake. Although I admit I baked it at night and ate it the next day because it was so hot and humid yesterday that I would have been happy serving up popsicles for dinner.
- 3 cups corn, either from canned or frozen then thawed
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 ½ cups grated pecorino romano cheese
- grated zest of 1 large lemon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¾ cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded provolone
- 6 no boil lasagne sheets
- olive oil for drizzling
Preheat the oven to 375˚ Grease an 8”x8” baking dish with vegetable oil.
In a food processor blend the corn, cream and garlic until chunky. Add the mascarpone cheese. Add 1 cup of the perconino-romano cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the chopped basil and pulse just until blended.
Spread one-third of the corn mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with one third of the provolone cheese. Add 2 lasagna sheets on top. Repeat two more times. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup romano on top and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Bake 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
The Nursing Mother's Cookbook 