Ginas Creamy Mushroom Lasagna Recipes

CREAMY SPINACH AND MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- by 13- by 1-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Set aside.
• For the vegetables: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and any liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 20 minutes.
• For the sauce: In a heavy-bottomed 5-quart saucepan, bring the cream, milk and flour to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add the Pecorino and the mozzarella. Whisk until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spinach, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Add the mushroom mixture to the sauce and stir to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Cut the Fresh Pasta dough in quarters and press flat. Run each piece of pasta dough several times through a pasta-rolling machine adjusting the setting each time until the pasta is about 1/16-inch thick. Cut the pasta into six 12- by 4-inch rectangles (reserve any pasta trimmings for another use). The pasta dough can also be rolled out by hand. Cut the chilled dough into quarters and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick.
• Spread 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange 2 sheets of pasta on top in a single layer. Spread 2 cups of the sauce over the pasta sheets. Repeat the layers with the remaining pasta sheets and sauce, ending with the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.
• Place the cake flour, all-purpose flour, egg yolks and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, gradually add the oil then 1/3 to 1/2 cup water until the mixture forms a dough (the dough should stick together if pinched between your fingers). If necessary, add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough into a ball and knead until the dough is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

LASAGNA WITH SPINACH AND WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the wet spinach. Wilt in the water left on the leaves, stirring until all of the spinach has collapsed in the pan. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water, taking up spinach by the handful. Chop fine and season with a little bit of salt. Set aside. (Alternatively, blanch for 20 seconds in salted boiling water).
• Clean and dry skillet and heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Add mushrooms. Let sear without moving for about 30 seconds, then toss and stir in the pan until they begin to sweat, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to medium and add minced garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until mushrooms are soft, 3 to 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish. Blend ricotta cheese with egg, water, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in spinach.
• Spread a small spoonful of marinara sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with a thin layer of ricotta. Spoon on a few dollops then spread it with an offset or rubber spatula. Top ricotta with half the mushrooms, then top with a layer of marinara sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat layers, then add a final layer of lasagna noodles topped with marinara sauce and Parmesan. Drizzle on remaining olive oil.
• Cover baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until noodles are tender and mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

CREAMY VEGAN MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• In a large skillet, heat a glug of oil or veggie broth over medium. When the pan is hot, add the garlic and sauté until it becomes fragrant. This will take about a minute. Add the mushrooms, tamari, and thyme. Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms release their water and a little broth starts to form.
• Combine the cashews and veggie broth in a high-speed blender and blend until the mixture is completely smooth. This might take up to 5 minutes, depending on the speed and power of your blender. Pour the cashew sauce into the pan with the mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for a couple minutes to let the sauce thicken, stirring frequently. Throw in the spinach and stir for another minute.
• Prepare the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. Make sure to do this after your mushroom sauce is ready to go, so the noodles don't sit for too long and start sticking together.
• Spread a third of the marinara sauce on the bottom of an 8-by-11-inch baking dish. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with half of the mushroom cream. Add a layer of noodles. Use another third of the marinara to cover these noodles. Add the remaining mushroom cream. Add the last layer of noodles and cover it with the remaining marinara sauce.
• Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast over the top, if you like, and bake for another 15 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 5 minutes before serving.

CREAMY MUSHROOM LASAGNE

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.

MUSHROOM LASAGNA

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.