Loaded with four types of cheese, this creamy, nutty lasagne al forno is bursting with umami flavor, writes Mandy Applegate.
Make-ahead or batch cook it and freeze a dish to enjoy at a later date. A perfect family meal and tasty comfort food if you are looking for new and tasty dinner recipes. Suitable for vegetarians, this easy recipe is a real crowd-pleaser.
Preparation time: 1hr & 10 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.
Ingredients: 50g dried porcini mushrooms, 6tbsp olive oil, 2 red onions, 250g portobello mushrooms, 600g chestnut mushrooms, 4 garlic cloves, 20g sage leaves, 1tsp grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to season, 50g butter, 50g plain flour, 700ml whole milk, 150g dolcelatte cheese, 250g mascarpone cheese, 75g vegetarian parmesan cheese, 1tsp English mustard powder, pinch grated nutmeg, 12 lasagne sheets, 200g brie thinly sliced and 40g pine nuts.
Instructions
First, place your dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl, add boiling water and then leave them to soak.
Over medium-low heat, heat your olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add your onion and gently fry until it’s soft and caramelized, ensuring that you stir regularly, approximately 15 minutes, when cooked, set them aside.
Add more olive oil, turn the heat up to high and fry half of the portobello and chestnut mushrooms until they are a lovely golden brown, set aside and then repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
Now add all the mushrooms and the onions to the pan, add in your garlic, sage, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to season. Continue to cook and stir for one minute.
Now it’s time for the porcini mushrooms. Pour the mushrooms into a sieve over the pan and let the water that they have been soaking in drain into your pan. Then chop them roughly and add to the pan, stir, and cook for approximately 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
Now prepare your white sauce. In a medium-sized pan, melt your butter and stir in the plain all-purpose flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes until you see a thick paste has formed.
Now gradually add your milk, stirring with a wooden spoon, and gently bring it to a boil, it’s important to keep stirring constantly until it’s a smooth and thick white sauce.
Now add dolcelatte, mascarpone, half of your vegetarian parmesan cheese, and mustard to the white sauce and stir until the cheese has completely melted and is perfectly combined. Season to taste and add another pinch or two of grated nutmeg. Now preheat the oven and take a deep ovenproof dish and lightly brush it with a little olive oil. It’s time to build your lasagne!
Pour in a third of your mushroom mixture and then ensure that it covers the base of your dish evenly. Then, place a single layer of pasta sheets on top of the mushrooms, again, ensuring that the mushrooms are covered, and you’ve created a complete layer, break the lasagne sheets to fit if you need to12 Lasagne sheets.
Next, add your sauce and ladle a third onto the lasagne sheets and spread evenly so that the lasagne sheets are completely covered, then repeat this process twice more and on the final layer lay the thin slices of Brie, scatter the other half of your parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
Cover your baking dish loosely with lightly oiled tin foil and place it on a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 15 – 20 minutes until it’s deliciously crisp on the topThen serve it to your eager guests! Bellissima – enjoy!
Here’s more information about our tasty vegetarian lasagne https://www.splashoftaste.com/lasagne-al-forno/
Nutrition/Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 775mg | Potassium: 941mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1126IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 445mg | Iron: 2mg
