Guess what doesn't work very well? Trying to make a lasagna during the height of Halloween. So while I wouldn't necessarily recommend preparing this dish with the doorbell going off every few minutes, I imagine it would be fairly simple under normal circumstances. I adapted it a bit from the one published by Martha Rose Shulman in The New York Times. She recommends using no-boil lasagna noodles, but cooking them just a bit. I skipped this step (chalk it up to exhaustion from all the trick-or-treaters) and, while the edges were not as soft as I would have liked, the lasagna as a whole still turned out well.
Mushroom Lasagna
Makes 6 servings
For the mushrooms:
- 1 oz dried porcini or shiitake mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced (these are also sold as "Baby Bellas")
- Salt
- ½ cup fruity red whine, such as Côtes du Rhône or Syrah (I just used the bottle of red that we had open)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Freshly ground pepper
For the béchamel:
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp minced shallot or onion
- 2 Tbsp sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
In addition:
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 4 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
- Place the dried mushrooms in a glass measuring cup and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let soak for 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 ½ cups of the soaking liquid and set aside.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, and then add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms. Salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to soften and 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, sitrring 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.
- To make the béchamel, heat 2 Tbsp olive 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.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Oil or butter a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon a thin layer of béchamel and mushrooms into the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread a layer of the mushroom/béchamel mixture over the noodles and top with a layer of Parmesan. Repeat two more times, ending with a layer of the mushroom/béchamel mixture topped with Parmesan. Cover with foil and place in the oven; bake for 30 minutes. If you want the edges of the noodles crispy and the top lightly browned, remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes more. Serve hot or warm.
