Jason Cope’s fresh lasagne and cherry tomatoes

Thanks to Malu Simoes and Alberto Musacchio for this great recipe. This is, more or less, their original recipe, with only minor changes

Serves: 8
Difficulty level: A little effort
Duration: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Sheet pasta
165g ‘00’ Flour
85g Grano Duro flour + extra, for dusting
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
5ml (1 tsp) extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Sift the flours together on a flat work surface. Create a mound and make a well in the centre.
2. Lightly beat the remaining ingredients together in a bowl and add to the well. Work with your fingers until a dough forms. Gather the dough and knead until the texture is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes.
3. Cut the dough into three portions. Roll each portion through the pasta mill on number 6 and lay out on a floured surface. Using a 10cm round, cut out discs and lay out over floured parchment paper.

Cherry tomato sauce
250ml (1 cup) olive oil
± 35 cherry tomatoes, halved horizontally
15ml (1 tbsp) basil, chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
15ml (1 tbsp) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
75ml (5 tbsp) breadcrumbs (I prefer using finely shredded/crumbed ciabatta rather than store-bought breadcrumbs)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Drizzle 50ml of the olive oil into a baking dish. Cover with the tomatoes, cut-side up.
3. Set aside 45ml (3 tbsp) of the oil and combine the remaining oil, the basil, garlic, flat-leaf parsley and rosemary in a bowl, and season. Top the tomatoes with the breadcrumbs, gently pressing down. Evenly drizzle with the remaining olive oil and bake until golden brown, 30 minutes.

Velouté
360ml vegetable stock
30g (2 tbsp) butter
75ml flour
30ml (2 tbsp) single cream
90ml Parmesan, grated
90ml Pecorino Romano
90ml Emmenthal, grated

METHOD

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a pot over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Melt the butter in a separate pot over low/medium heat and add the flour, stirring constantly, until the roux is golden brown.
3. Add the stock, whisking to combine, and stir until creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the single cream and set aside.
4. I find it easier at this stage to stir in the cheese and blend just before assembling the meal, otherwise I sometimes have texture problems if it sits for too long. You can also use other cheeses here for the velouté, depending on what you have available, with good results.

TO ASSEMBLE

INGREDIENTS

120ml Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (you can use Grana Padano here too)
30 – 45ml (2 – 3 tbsp) freshly made basil pesto (it has to be freshly made; don’t ruin this meal with long-life pesto)
45ml (3 tbsp) pine nuts, freshly roasted (roasted almonds are good too)
28g black olives – pitted, chopped, and oiled
300g rocket
extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the pasta in two batches.
2. Reheat the velouté, stirring in the cheese until smooth.
3. Place 30ml (2 tbsp) of the sauce on individual serving plates.
4. As soon as the pasta comes to the surface, place one disk on each plate, over the sauce. Top with a little more sauce, around four tomato halves and 5ml (1 tsp) pesto. Cover with one more disk and repeat the filling. Cover with a final disk and top with a sprinkling of cheese, pine nuts and pesto. Dot with the olives, and place a small handful of fresh rocket on top. Finish with a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.