This white-sauce mushroom lasagna uses spinach egg noodles instead of lasagna noodles. So our legal department suggested I call it a lasagna “bake.” (An even better authority tells me to call it pasta al forno.)

While perusing food blogs, I often come across photographs so beautiful and delicious-looking, that I wish scent could travel through the internet. But then I remember for that for every food blog on the web, there are hundreds of other types of sites out there – most of which I thank God I cannot smell. The internet is a visual medium. Given that, and the fact that it’s easier to look at pictures than it is to read, you can easily understand why food blogs are all about food photography. I’m sure there is a large audience of people who want to look at food, but I want to cook. And although the universe of food blogs is immense and filled with splendid-looking food, I’m amazed at how difficult it is to find good recipes and useful information.

That’s why I admire Stefan’s Gourmet Blog. It’s full of useful, well-tested, reliable information. He features interesting, sophisticated, gourmet food and his recipes are stellar. If you’re cooking for guests and want something spectacular, consult Stefan’s blog. I was recently planning a brunch, and found his recipe for Lasagne ai Funghi. It fit the bill perfectly: straightforward, excellent flavor pairings … something about the white sauce makes it seem brunch-friendly … and – like any lasagna – you can make it in advance.

Stefan’s recipe is perfect as-is. I made two changes to it only to suit my own tastes and circumstances: 1) I would have loved to make homemade pasta, but I was preparing brunch for 20 (quadrupling this recipe, as well as preparing several other dishes), and had only a few hours after work each night to do the prep. I decided to take a cut here and buy the pasta. However, spinach lasagna noodles are not easy to come by. Instead, I used spinach egg noodles (that I found at Treasure Island), which worked nicely. 2) To one of the batches, I added scrambled sausage, because some of my friends are vegetarian-challenged. It was a hit at the brunch. Although it’s good both ways, I like it with the sausage.

What you need make 4 rather large or 8 small-but-not-too-small servings

1.1 lbs cremini mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs minced fresh flat leaf parsley
3 cups milk
5 1/2 Tbs butter plus more for pan and topping
1/2 cup flour
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage, optional
9 oz. dried spinach pasta
Plenty of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

How to do it:

These directions are abbreviated in some ways, and expanded in others. I suggest you read the original directions, with play-by-play photos, on Stefan’s blog.

1. Brown the mushrooms. Sauté the garlic with the parsley briefly, then add it to the shrooms; set aside.
2. Make the white sauce: heat milk just until the first bubbles appear. Meanwhile, melt butter; add flour and stir over low heat. Add hot milk; whisk like mad. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens (which happens rather quickly). Season with nutmeg, lots of salt, and pepper. If not using immediately, cover the sauce with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic right onto the sauce so the entire surface of the sauce is in contact with the plastic.
3. (Scramble the sausage just until the pink is gone. Set aside.)
4. Prepare pasta according to package directions, but drain it when it’s just barely al dente. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400ºF and butter an 8-inch square oven dish.
5. As soon as you’ve drained the pasta, while it’s still steaming hot, assemble the lasagna. Put a bit of white sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Build the lasagna in layers like this: pasta, mushrooms, parmigiana, sauce. (Once you’ve used up about half of your ingredients, add a layer of sausage.) The top layer needs to be sauce. Top that with parmigiana (and optionally dot with butter).
6. Bake until top is golden brown, about half an hour. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Notes:

1. It’s easy to double this recipe and bake it in a 9 x 13 dish.
2. Most of the components can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.
3. Cremini mushrooms are perfect in this dish. If it’s possible that you can find them pre-sliced, that could save you some time – although, honestly, prepping the shrooms can be sort-of therapeutic.
4. The lasagna can be assembled, refrigerated, and baked later. However, it can also be baked, cooled, sliced, and reheated. It’s just as good like this as it is fresh; maybe it’s even better this way.
5. Terrific leftover. Microwaves perfectly.

Mushroom Lasagna

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Clicking on images will enlarge them. This content was not solicited, nor written in exchange for anything.

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