Walnut and Arugula Lasagne

For the pasta:
Mix the eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour to make a dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes, adding flour if it is too sticky. Let it rest while cooking the other components.

For the vegetables:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter in a large pan with a lid over medium heat. Dice and fry the onions, garlic and carrots until slightly browned and just tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the arugula. Cover the pan with the lid and set aside—the leaves will wilt under the remaining heat in the pan.

For the walnut sauce:
Toast the walnuts in a pan over medium heat just until they turn a little golden and start to smell toasted. Then remove them from the pan and put them into a food processor. Pulse until they are the texture of coarse corn meal. Or you can chop by hand. Set aside.

Cook 2 tablespoons butter and 4 tablespoons flour in a saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned, then whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. When the white sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat and stir in the ground walnuts and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out the pasta to 1/8 inch thick, and cut it into strips (or, use your pan as a template and cut sheets! This amount perfectly fills a 4-serving, medium-sized round casserole dish).

Start by adding a thin layer of the walnut sauce into the pan, then add a pasta layer, then continue alternating sauce, veggies, mozzarella cheese and pasta. Top the final layer of pasta with sauce and a sprinkle of cheese.

Cover the dish with foil or a lid and bake at 375 F for 20 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Serves 4 hungry people!