Caprese Lasagna

2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs flour
2 cups milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
half a bunch (about 30 leaves) basil, chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1) Preheat oven to 375F.
2) Place a large saucepot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add garlic to pan and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and garlic, and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture and bring up to a bubble. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer until thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
3) Assemble the lasagna by ladling a small amount (about 1/4 cup, just eyeball it) of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and laying 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce. Top the noodles with a third of the sliced tomatoes, a third of the basil, 1/4 cup of sauce and a third of the shredded cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used up, topping the lasagna off with a final layer of sauce and shredded cheese.
4) Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the baking dish and bake another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. When ready to serve, top with remaining chopped basil leaves.

Review: Once again, I'm not so good with following directions. I didn't have any leftover basil to sprinkle on the top. Oh well. This was a flat lasagna, at least compared to our past lasagnas. But, it was yummy and fairly easy to make. Our whole home smells like basil at the moment, due to the preparation and sending the stalks down the garbage disposal. It could be worse, though.

Made again on 3/20/2011, but this time I ensured there would be basil on top!  Mike enjoyed arranging the leaves.