Mushroom Lasagne

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

250g instant dried lasagna sheets

80ml extra virgin olive oil

800g mixed mushrooms (like field and button), chopped

20g dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 500ml hot water

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 zucchini, coarsely grated

1 carrot, coarsely grated

½ cup white wine

700ml passata 

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs of sage

Cheese sauce 

100g butter

100g plain flour 

1L milk 

100g mozzarella, grated plus extra 

80g parmesan, finely grated plus extra

a good pinch of nutmeg  

Salt and pepper

Method

Rehydrate the dried porcini in 1 cup of hot water for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan (the bigger the better) over medium-high heat, add the onion, garlic, zucchini, carrot, bay leaf and sage and cook for 4 - 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 – 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wine and bring to the boil. 

Squeeze excess liquid (reserving it) from porcini and roughly chop. Add the porcini and about ¾ of the liquid and let it come to the boil again. Add the tomato passata and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium–low, cover with a lid and cook, stirring from time to time, for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the flour and stir continuously for about a minute. Pour in a quarter of the milk, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Place back on the heat and whisk in the rest of the milk. Whisk until the sauce comes to the boil and thickens. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese, reserving a handful for the top. 

Evenly spread a ladleful of mushroom sauce over the base of a 3-litre baking dish. Drizzle over a few spoonfuls of the cheese sauce then add three lasagne sheets in one single layer (this will depend on your dish). Break sheets if necessary so they cover most of the sauce. Spread another few ladlefuls of the sauce and repeat the layers until you have four in total, finishing with the cheese sauce. Top with the reserved cheese.

Loosely place a piece of foil over the lasagne (ensure it is not touching the cheese) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20 - 25 minutes until a golden crust forms. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes to ensure the lasagne sets before serving.