Meaty Mushroom Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a glass measuring cup and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Then rinse the mushrooms, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry and set aside. Chop coarsely. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, then add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to soften and to sweat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, 5 to 10 minutes. Add thyme and stir in the mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer, add salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth has reduced by a little more than half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt.
• Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw-flour taste. Season with salt and pepper. Strain while hot into the pan with the mushrooms.
• Assemble the lasagna. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil or butter a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add 3 or 4 lasagna noodles, just the number you need for one layer. Cook only until flexible, and using tongs or a skimmer, remove from the pan and set on a kitchen towel to drain. Spoon a thin layer of béchamel and mushrooms over the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread a ladleful of the mushroom/béchamel mixture over the noodles and top with a layer of Parmesan. Cook the next layer of noodles and continue to repeat the layers (I get three layers in my pan), ending with a layer of the mushroom/béchamel mixture topped with Parmesan. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and if you want the edges of the noodles crispy and the top lightly browned, continue to bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the mushrooms, thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and reserve.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the Dutch oven over high heat. Add the ground beef and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon, until it browns, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, onions, rosemary and oregano. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan and reduce until dry, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reserved mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is deep red and has reduced to 6 cups, about 40 minutes.
• For the bechamel: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sprinkle in the flour and whisk to form a paste. Add the milk while continuing to whisk, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and creamy and has reduced to6 cups, about 10 minutes. Add the nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt.
• To assemble: Butter the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch lasagna dish and cover with 3 lasagna sheets. Top with 1½ cups each of the meat sauce and the bechamel and sprinkle with ¼ cup of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, meat sauce, bechamel and Parmesan for a total of 4 layers, ending with ½ cup of Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top becomes golden, about 10 minutes more. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook and stir the mushrooms and onion in oil until tender. Add the parsley, prosciutto, garlic and Italian seasoning; cook 2 minutes longer. Add wine; cook and stir until liquid is evaporated. Add tomatoes and heat through., Spread 1 cup sauce in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with three noodles, 1-1/3 cups sauce, and a scant 1/4 cup each of mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat layers twice. In a small bowl, combine the cream, milk and remaining cheeses; spoon over the top., Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute mushrooms in margarine and olive oil in a large skillet until lightly browned and moisture is released from the mushrooms.
• Place half of the cooked mushrooms in the bottom of an 8 x 8 casserole dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Mozzarella. Place in oven for 5-10 min., just long enough to slightly melt the cheese. This creates a firm bottom layer.
• In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg. Stir in garlic salt or powder, Italian seasoning (crush it between your fingers as you add it) and parsley flakes. Add Ricotta, 1 cup Mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend. Mix well.
• Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce over the mushrooms/melted cheese bottom layer.
• Top with Ricotta mixture and spread evenly all the way to the edges to seal it.
• Place remaining mushrooms on top of Ricotta layer, and cover with 3/4 cup sauce. Top with 3/4 cup Mozzarella and 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend.
• Cover with foil, making sure the foil is tight enough so that it's not touching the cheese.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Heat remaining pasta sauce to serve with the meal.
• Allow lasagna to stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting. I ladle a small amount of sauce onto the plate, and then place a serving of lasagna on top of it.
• Makes 4, four inch by four inch servings.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook 9 lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• While the noodles are cooking, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add both mushrooms and onion; cook and stir until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add parsley, prosciutto, garlic, and Italian seasoning; cook for 2 minutes longer. Add wine; cook and stir until liquid has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
• Spread sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with 3 noodles, 1 1/3 cups sauce, and a scant amount of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with the next 2 layers.
• Combine cream, milk, and remaining mozzarella and Parmesan in a small bowl. Spoon over lasagna.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain well and set aside.
• Saute the mushrooms and garlic in melted butter in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until tender. Stir in salt and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low.
• Add the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add 1/3 cup of chopped parsley (not all the parsley, just 1/3 cup). Stir well.
• Spread 1 cup of the mushroom mixture in a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles over the mushroom mixture. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese evenly over the lasagna noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese. Spread 1 cup of the mushroom mixture over the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers twice. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• For the ragu, put the dried porcini mushrooms in a heatproof mug and cover with 125ml boiling water from the kettle. Set aside. Finely chop the chestnut mushrooms or blitz in a food processor to fine pieces.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole over a high heat and fry the onions, carrots and chopped chestnut mushrooms with a pinch of salt for 15 mins until the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated, stirring now and then. The mushrooms should be a deep brown colour and the other veg should be soft and slightly coloured.
• Add the mixed mushrooms, garlic and most of the thyme, and cook for another 5 mins until the mushrooms have started to soften. Drain the rehydrated porcini, add the soaking liquid to the pan, then finely chop the porcini and add that too. Stir in the wine, passata, ketchup and paprika to combine. Simmer for 25 mins until the ragu has reduced and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season generously with sea salt flakes and a grinding of black pepper.
• Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the bay and cook for a minute. Scatter in the flour and stir until you have a sticky paste. Add the milk in stages, whisking between each addition until you have a thick sauce. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3-4 mins, stirring occasionally until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove the bay, then mix in the crème fraîche, a generous grating of nutmeg and seasoning.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Rub the olive oil over the base and sides of a large ceramic baking dish (ours was 35 x 20 x 6cm). Arrange a layer of lasagne sheets in the base (you may need to break them so they fit), then spoon over a layer of the mushroom ragu, drizzle with some of the béchamel, and scatter over a handful of the mozzarella. Repeat until you have used all the ragu and the final layer of lasagne sheets, then smooth over a thick layer of béchamel. Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella and bake for 40-45 mins until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden. Leave to rest for 10 mins, then sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves before serving.