Wild Mushroom & Three-Cheese Lasagna
Yield:
8 Servings
Notes
I also made this for the first time at the 2000 "Lonely Heart's Dinner". Jennifer Jones was coming over and she's not just a hottie but a vegetarian, so I detoured my second pan of lasagna into this and its never been second-best. It worked out nicely in terms of prep since I could make it and another lasagna the night before and just needed to throw them into the pan. Sadly, I was a bit too buzzed by the time dinner came on to remember to start the stove... This is really tasty but ends up being kind of expensive with several pricey mushrooms among the ingredients. Also, a pain in the ass to find all four types. Allegedly you can substitute morels for the porcini, but I've never tried it -- porcinis scare me for some reason. I've substituted portobello for the shitakes when I haven't been able to find the latter fresh and it hasn't mattered. I've also dodged the porcini by using dried mushroom mixes from the supermarket that work out pretty good. Bon Appetit, March 1994 (via Epicurious)
Ingredients
7/8 - 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup hot water
3 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
12 oz button mushrooms
6-8 oz shitake mushrooms
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbl fresh rosemary
1/8 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 15 oz cont. ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto sauce
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
12 lasagna noodles
20 oz goat cheese
1 large tomato, seeded & chopped
fresh basil
Preparation
SUMMARY: 70 minutes total cook time & garnish. 15 minutes sitting.

Rinse porcini mushrooms, pour soak 30 minutes in 1 cup hot water.


Sauce: Heat oil, add onion and cook until tender. Add mushrooms until they soften. Add rosemary & crushed red pepper & toss a few times. Add wine & mushroom liquid & boil until reduced by half. Add tomatoes, reduce heat until sauce is thick -- this part always seems to take an eternity. Season with salt & pepper. [cheat: added a little sage & Italian seasoning to make up for the lack of porcini]

Filling: Combine ricotta, Parmesan & pesto. Season w/salt & pepper. Stir in the 2 eggs & yolk to the mix. Aren't you glad you seasoned BEFORE this step?

Build: 1/4 sauce over dish
noodles
half of filling
1/4 sauce
1/3 goat cheese
noodles
rest of filling
1/4 sauce
1/3 goat cheese
noodles
rest of sauce & goat cheese.

I always end up shorting myself sauce so that the last layer is pretty thin, but it never seems to matter much.

Cook at 350 deg for 35 mins covered, 35 mins uncovered.

Garnish with tomato & let stand 15 mins.
Primary Category:
Main Dishes
William Pollock's Eat Happy