My Wild Mushroom And Spinach Lasagna dish is loaded with flavor. I promise you won’t miss the meat! Mushrooms are such a great substitute for meat. Their meaty texture and earthy flavor paired with spinach, fresh mozzarella, and creamy Béchamel sauce take comfort food to a whole other level.
My Wild Mushroom And Spinach Lasagna video will take you through a shortened version of this recipe. No one wants to watch an entire video from start to finish on making a Lasagna. To keep the video short and sweet, I decided to prepare all the components for the lasagna in advance. While generally going through the steps the video really concentrates on the assembly and the cooking process.
The top picture is after it’s rested for 20 minutes. The picture below is after the entire casserole dish had been refrigerated overnight and then a piece was cut. You can see a big difference in the presentation. Truth be told, I think lasagna is always better the second day.
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Yields: 12 servings
Equipment: 3-quart baking dish (15″ x 9 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ high), 6-quart saucepot, 3 large mixing bowls, medium-size bowl, large deep-sided frying pan, Chef’s knife, Microplane
Ingredients:
2 boxes of dried oven-ready lasagna noodles ( you may only need a little over 1 box)
2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1 stick for Bechamel sauce, 3 tablespoons for mushrooms, the remainder for greasing the baking dish
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups whole milk
2 10-ounce packages of thawed, drained spinach, squeeze out excess water
3/4 (24 ounces) of a 32-ounce container of Ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt (for Ricotta mixture)
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (for Ricotta mixture)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 large package of fresh Mozzarella, slice into 14 rounds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, freshly ground
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 cup of grated Parmesan
8 ounces (1 cup) of store-bought shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup of fresh and finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley for Ricotta mixture,
2 tablespoons dried parsley for garnish
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh Thyme leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
(approx. 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms total)
2 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 pint of white Button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 pints of Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
5 Oyster mushrooms, cleaned, central stem removed and discarded
6 Trumpet mushrooms, bottom tip removed, then sliced into 2-inch pieces
10 Shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted beef stock, or a good red wine
Directions For Sautèed Wild Mushrooms:
In a large deep-sided frying pan (if you don’t have one of these pans, sauté your mushrooms in two batches, about 5 minutes per batch) over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil then add in fresh and dried thyme. Next, add the mushrooms, tossing and stirring continuously. As the mushrooms cook they’ll start to release their water.
Add in the minced garlic and black pepper, again, stirring occasionally. Once all their water has evaporated, there will be mushroom bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock and scrape all those delicious bits up using a wooden spoon. Once the mushrooms have really started to brown, this is when you want to salt the mushrooms. Continue stirring and allow the mushrooms to cook, absorbing the remainder of the beef broth and become tender about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Directions For Spinach:
Defrost both boxes of frozen spinach the day before. Once thawed, drain and squeeze dry any excess water. You want the spinach to be as free of any water as possible. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
Directions For Cheeses:
Place store-bought shredded Mozzarella cheese in a bowl and set aside. Chop up the Parmesan cheese into small chunks and place them into a food processor. Pulse a few times until you have the consistency of ground cheese. For the fresh Mozzarella, slice the Mozzarella into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place all prepped cheeses in the frig until needed.
Directions For Ricotta:
In a large bowl add Ricotta, 3 beaten large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon each of Kosher salt, and pepper, and finely chopped fresh flat leave Italian parsley. Mix together until well combined and set aside.
Directions For The Bechamel Sauce:
Bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick) in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, whisking constantly until the flour has cooked out and becomes blonde in color. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 teaspoon each of Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Double-check the thickness of the Bechamel sauce by dipping a wooden spoon into the sauce. Take your finger and make a line down the back of the spoon, if the sauce stays separated and doesn’t run together, the sauce is ready. Immediately transfer to a large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly over the sauce, preventing a skin from forming, and set aside.
Assembling Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.
Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Arrange a layer of oven-ready noodles on top, then ladle more Bechamel sauce. Sprinkle both grated Parmesan and shredded Mozzarella cheeses. Next, add half the spinach and mushrooms. To that, add the fresh Mozzarella slices. Repeat this process once more. Next, add all of the Ricotta mixtures and top with another layer of the noodles. Lightly press, with your hands, on the top to make sure all the ingredients are nice and level in the dish. Over that last layer of noodles top with the rest of the Bechamel sauce and a final sprinkle of both grated Parmesan and shredded Mozzarella cheeses. Add a sprinkle of dried parsley over the top for color.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Once out of the oven, let rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Directions For Reheating Refrigerated Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Pour between 2 tablespoons or 1/4 cup of water over the lasagna (depending on its size). Spray the dull side of the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Place the sprayed side down over the lasagna and seal tight around the edges of the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lasagna is hot and bubbly.
Directions For Freezing Fully-Cooked Lasagna:
Make sure the lasagna has cooled completely, at least an hour and a half. Wrap the entire baking dish in freezer-safe plastic wrap. This ensures there are no gaps in the wrap where air can get in and cause freezer burn. Then place foil over the top. It can keep up to three months.
Directions For Cooking Frozen Lasagna:
Transfer the frozen lasagna to the refrigerator 24 hours in advance.
Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.
Before going into the oven, remove the foil and plastic wrap from the baking dish and replace it with new foil that’s been sprayed with some non-stick cooking spray, on the dull side of the foil. Add 2 tablespoons or 1/4 cup (depending on the size of the lasagna) of water over the top of the lasagna. Place the sprayed side down over the top, seal the edges tight. This will prevent any cheese from sticking to foil. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
YouTube video for this recipe is at http://www.YouTube.com/Linda Lou Hamel
Like this:
Like Loading...
