Mushroom Lasagna

Best guy friend of BOOF, Finance P, was stopping in on his way back to good ol' fishkill so I promised him dinner. I decided to be ambitious and make this Mushroom Lasagna that I had seen posted on Smitten Kitchen the day before.

This was my first adventure in making lasagna, despite my mastery of casseroles, so I knew it was going to be an adventure...i only could hope it would turn out well.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

Salt
Olive oil
3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used less, because this seemed like a lot)
1 1/2 pounds cremini or portobello mushrooms (I just used sliced white)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 cup of Shredded Mozzarella

1) Preheat your oven to 375°F.

2) Bring a large pot of water to boil with salt and a splash of oil, that will help keep your noodles from sticking together as they drain. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3) Making the sticky sauce: Bring the milk and garlic to simmer in a saucepan,

4) Melt 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) butter in a large saucepan.

5) Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring

constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Pour in the hot milk, a little at a time at first and stirring until combined. Once you’ve added half of it, you can add the second half all at once, along with 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

6) Cook over medium-low heat, stirring or whisking frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick. Set aside.

7) Prepare mushrooms: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium in a large sauté pan. Cook half the mushrooms with a couple pinches of salt for about 5 minutes, or until they are tender and release some of their juices, tossing to make sure they cook evenly.

8) Assemble lasagna: Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 12 or 9 x 13 baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top*, then more sauce (about 1/4 of what remains), 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/4 cup grated parmesan and mozzarella. Repeat two more times then top with a final layer of noodles, your remaining sauce and last 1/4 cup of parmesan and mozzarella.

9) Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

10) Share and Enjoy!

Well, this was really good but I definitely have a few things to work on for my next lasagna attempt. Make sure your lasagna cooks evenly...I had a slight problem with that. My sauce always was a little thicker then I believe it's supposed to be...so I might try to add some more milk the next time or I may have let it reduce too much. So don't do that. :-) Overall, if you like mushrooms (as both of us did), then you'll love this.

POSTED: 12/28/10

Made: 10/07/10