This hearty rich Mushroom Lasagne dish, is perfect for cooler temperatures. It's warm and filling on chilly winter evenings, and looks impressive on holiday tables.
I first tried Mushroom Lasagne at a winter work luncheon. One of my colleagues brought the lasagne, as a main dish for vegetarians. Her recipe originated from a publication in the Vancouver Sun weekend newspaper many years before. She had tweaked the recipe over the years that she had been making it. Very kindly, she shared her recipe with us and I have further adapted it below.
Lasagne is one of those dishes that serves a crowd well. It can be served either as the main star of the evening, or as a side dish during buffet style dinner parties. I'm very aware of people's dietary preferences when I am creating a menu for a group of friends or family. I try to ensure that there is a vegetable dish that is hearty enough for vegetarians and that there is some sort of gluten free option as well.
This Mushroom Lasagne is perfect to serve during holiday celebration dinners, it is great as a side to meat, say a beef tenderloin or roast, yet it is also a hearty main dish for non-meat eaters.
I also think lasagne looks fabulous on a buffet table in a festive dish, like this rippled red Le Creuset ceramic baking dish!
Whether you are a vegetarian or not, I hope you enjoy this creamy and hearty winter pleaser!
Enjoy,
Krista
Mushroom Lasagne (adapted from Tally)
Ingredients
For The Lasagne Filling:
750 grams cremini mushrooms, sliced (*optional: reserve 12 slices to garnish)
250 grams oyster mushrooms, chopped and sliced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (reserve 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup butter
1 medium red onion, chopped fine
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 398 ml can tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1 cup vegetable stock (or chicken if not vegetarian)
2 tablespoons sherry or 1/2 cup white wine (optional)
For The Sauce:
1 cup butter (you can reduce this to 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
For The Lasagne:
16 lasagne noodles (this is a little more than a package, but it's worth it for full coverage)
2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
*150 grams thinly sliced prosciutto ham (optional: omit for vegetarian version)
1 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
12 mushroom slices, to garnish (*see Recipe Tip below)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped parsley, to garnish
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, to garnish
Method
For The Filling:
In a large sauté pan, over medium-high heat, warm olive oil and 1/4 cup of butter. Add all mushrooms and cook until they release their liquids. Add rosemary and thyme to the pan. Continue to cook until all liquids evaporate and mushrooms are a hearty brown colour. Then, transfer mushrooms to a bowl.
In the same medium-high heat pan you cooked the mushrooms in, add the reserved tablespoon of olive oil, red onion, shallot, salt and pepper. Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic at the end, cooking for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Add mushrooms back into the sauté pan with the onion and shallot mixture. Then add tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper (to taste if necessary) and vegetable stock. Cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add sherry or white wine to de-glaze and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove pan from heat and set aside until ready to assemble the lasagne.
For The Noodles:
While the mushroom filling is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lasagne noodles to the water and cook until just before they reach el dente, slightly hard. (just over half to two thirds of the cooking time listed on the package). Noodles will vary in cook time depending on the brand and freshness. Drain almost el dente noodles and set aside. You want the noodles to remain undercooked as they will continue to soften when the lasagne is combined and baking.
For The Sauce:
In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter and gradually spoon by spoon, add in the flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes with a wooden spoon to cook the rawness out of the flour. During this time, in a separate saucepan, bring the milk to a slight simmer (little bubbles around the edges). Ladle the milk into the butter and flour sauce pan, stirring initially with a wooden spoon, then with a whisk. Increase heat to medium and continue to whisk the sauce until it is smooth and has thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
To Assemble Lasagne:
Spray the bottom of pan with non-stick spray. Then, place 4 noodles on the bottom of an 8X12" baking dish (I placed 3 noodles horizontally, overlapping and cut the fourth noodle in half to go vertically along the length of the dish for full coverage).
Spread 1/3 of the mushroom mixture evenly over the noodles.
Top with 1/4 of the sauce and 1/4 of the parmesan cheese.
Cover with 1/3 of the prosciutto slices (omit if making vegetarian).
Repeat above steps with two more layers. Cover with top layer of noodles and add remaining sauce and parmesan cheese. Place 12 single mushroom slices to top (4 rows of 3) if using. Dot top with the 2 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in a 425 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes to brown and crisp cheese on top.
Allow lasagne to stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with remaining parsley and thyme.
Recipe Tips:
*I like to add mushroom slices to the top of the lasagne to let people know that the lasagne is filled with mushrooms and is vegetarian. Aside from a sign, it is an additional visual for those with dietary preferences.
If you are serving this lasagne buffet style, I find that adding the mushroom slices, as shown in the photo above is a good guide to cutting or portioning slices. To ensure that everyone has a piece or that there is some reserved for non-meat eaters, I find it shows the guest cutting the lasagne, what an appropriately portioned piece is. Not that you can't have seconds or thirds, I just find it helps to ensure everyone gets enough to eat!
*When making the medium thick cream, or white sauce (it's called a bechamel sauce), I prefer to heat my milk prior to stirring it into the flour and fat mixture. This helps to prevent lumps. If you don't want to dirty another pan, I totally understand, just omit this step, but make sure your milk is room temperature.
*In an effort to reduce the butter in the cream sauce, (I know, I know - I'm always trying to be healthier!) I recipe tested the sauce with 1/2 cup of butter. I felt that the sauce came out much more flour based, so I upped it to 1 cup for my next test. If you are like me and are watching your fat intake, try reduce it to 3/4 cup of butter.
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