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Wild Mushroom Lasagna
There are quite a few ingredients and steps in this recipe, but there is nothing difficult about a wild mushroom lasagna recipe. The lasagna is basically the layering of noodles, mushroom mixture, béchamel sauce, and cheeses. I've broken down the ingredients and directions accordingly so it's pretty easy to follow. Start to finish, it takes about 2 hours, well worth it.
Mushroom Mixture:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup)
(I bought that giant bag of dried shitake mushrooms at the warehouse store and I'm happy to announce that they work well in this recipe, too.)2 pounds fresh white mushrooms
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
2 large tomatoes (or 1 14-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes)
Salt and pepper
9 long lasagna noodles (plus 1 extra, just in case; not the no-boil kind)
Béchamel Sauce:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cheeses:
8 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 ounces Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup), grated
Directions:
Mushroom Mixture:
First, reconstitute the porcini mushrooms by placing them in 2 cups of very hot water for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, wipe the fresh mushrooms clean with paper toweling and thin-slice them. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet and add the fresh mushrooms, onion, garlic, and parsley. Chop the tomatoes and add those, too. Stir.
While the fresh mushroom mixture continues cooking, remove the porcini from their soak with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid. Rinse them thoroughly to remove any grit and chop coarsely. Add them to the skillet. Pour the reserved porcini liquid into the skillet through a strainer lined with a folded damp paper towel. Stir. Let the entire mushroom mixture simmer until all the mushroom liquid is released and evaporated. (All that wonderful mushroom flavor is retained that way.) Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.
Noodles:
When you have time during the mushroom sauce preparation, start a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the lasagna noodles 1 at a time. Cook the noodles for 8 minutes from the time the water starts to boil again. Quickly rinse the noodles with cold water and lay them on paper towels, separately, to dry.
Béchamel Sauce:
While the noodles are cooking, you should be able to start the Béchamel Sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and whisk in the flour. Heat and stir for about 3 minutes. Turn up the heat a bit, to medium, and gradually stir in the milk. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thickened, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the nutmeg and salt.
Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Place three lasagna noodles in the bottom of a buttered 9" X 13" baking dish, in a single layer. Spread 1/2 of the mushroom mixture over the noodles. Spread 1/3 of the béchamel sauce over the mushroom mixture. Top with 1/2 the Mozzarella.
Repeat.
Now place three more noodles on top. Spread the remaining béchamel sauce and then sprinkle all the Parmesan cheese over it. Bake until golden brown and bubbly on top, about 25-30 minutes. Let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Prep-Steps for those preparing the Wild Mushroom Lasagna recipe's suggested dinner party menu:
(Wild Mushroom Lasagna, Sautéed Cabbage, Roasted-Garlic Bread, Spiced Wine-Poached Pears)
Make-ahead options:
The roasted garlic for the bread can be prepared days ahead, and stored, but in this case it's just as easy to roast it at the same time the lasagna is baking. The poached pears can be prepared a day ahead, and refrigerated. So can the lasagna, up to the point of baking; just bring it to room temperature before baking.
Order of preparation:
Prepare the poached pears first and set them aside to cool, about 3 hours before mealtime.
Ready the garlic bulbs for roasting.
Prepare the lasagna next and bake it and the garlic together.
Sauté the cabbage while the lasagna is baking.
Toast the bread while the lasagna is standing.
Arrange the pears on plates when you're ready for dessert.
If you've taken advantage of the make-aheads you can start about 1-1/4 hours before mealtime, provided you remember to take the lasagna out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature.
Preheat the oven.
You can arrange the poached pears for serving now or just before serving. (They're good cold or room temperature.)
Sauté the cabbage while the lasagna is baking.
Toast the bread while the lasagna is standing, and warm the garlic.
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