Dinner Recipes

White Lasagna With Wild Mushrooms

When this unabashedly creamy white lasagna rolled out of the oven, half the test kitchen came to look — tasting forks in hand, appetites at the ready. “It’s comforting just to look at it,” someone said.

It’s even better to eat. The white sauce is essentially a trio of wild oyster, maitake, and shiitake mushrooms steeped in a classic béchamel. A generous pinch of nutmeg gives it some welcome fall vibes. But it was the mushrooms that captivated our crowd, adding an unexpected earthy depth and foiling what could be a bland heaviness in the creamy sauce.

In the lasagna, the wild mushroom béchamel is layered with noodles, chopped spinach, milky-sweet ricotta, melty mozzarella, and a dusting of nutty Parm — yes, you will get a masterful cheese pull. But you will also get the wonderful dry sweetness of the spinach and almost juicy bites of meaty shiitake. All in all, the lasagna reminded us (in the very best way) of a noodly spinach dip. We could eat the whole pan.

Like most homemade lasagnas, this one is a project. We like to make it on a Saturday, when we have the leisure to cue up a podcast and putter around the kitchen. That said, we might serve it the next day, when the mushrooms and nutmeg have come into their own. Think of it as a cure to the Sunday blues: the whole family will be thrilled to see it on the kitchen table.

Serves: 6 to 8

White Lasagna With Wild Mushrooms
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Dinner

White Lasagna With Wild Mushrooms

Ingredients

For the mushroom béchamel:

¼ cup unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz oyster mushrooms, sliced ½”-thick
4 oz maitake mushrooms, sliced ½”-thick
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced ¼”-thick
1 yellow onion, medium diced
Kosher salt, to taste
¼ cup Gelson’s organic all-purpose flour
3 cups milk, room temperature
1 tsp Gelson’s dried sweet basil
½ tsp Gelson’s whole oregano
1 pinch Gelson’s ground nutmeg
Freshly ground Gelson’s black pepper, to taste

For the lasagna:

9 lasagna noodles, plus extra
15 oz whole milk ricotta
20 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350º.

  2. To make the mushroom béchamel: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Season lightly with salt.

  3. Whisk in the flour until golden in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

  4. Stir in the basil, oregano, and nutmeg, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and set aside while you prepare the lasagna noodles.

  5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Note: Cook a few extra noodles in case 1 or 2 of them tear during the cooking process.

  6. To assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the mushroom béchamel on the bottom of a 9×13” baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, ½ the ricotta cheese, ½ the spinach, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and ¼ cup of the Parmesan.

  7. Repeat the layers once more starting with the mushroom béchamel. Then, top with the remaining noodles, mushroom béchamel, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

  8. Bake the lasagna for 35 to 45 minutes, or until bubbling. Increase the heat to broil and bake for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until the top is browned in spots.

  9. Let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve warm. Leftover lasagna can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Recipe source: Damn Delicious

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