Lasagna Béchamel With Mushroom Ragù Food

MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a glass measuring cup and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Then rinse the mushrooms, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry and set aside. Chop coarsely. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, then add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to soften and to sweat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, 5 to 10 minutes. Add thyme and stir in the mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer, add salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth has reduced by a little more than half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt.
• Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw-flour taste. Season with salt and pepper. Strain while hot into the pan with the mushrooms.
• Assemble the lasagna. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil or butter a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add 3 or 4 lasagna noodles, just the number you need for one layer. Cook only until flexible, and using tongs or a skimmer, remove from the pan and set on a kitchen towel to drain. Spoon a thin layer of béchamel and mushrooms over the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread a ladleful of the mushroom/béchamel mixture over the noodles and top with a layer of Parmesan. Cook the next layer of noodles and continue to repeat the layers (I get three layers in my pan), ending with a layer of the mushroom/béchamel mixture topped with Parmesan. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and if you want the edges of the noodles crispy and the top lightly browned, continue to bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

LASAGNA BéCHAMEL WITH MUSHROOM RAGù

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Let the mushrooms soak for 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Place a rack on the top third of your oven and preheat it to 425ºF (220ºC).
• Chop the cremini mushrooms into pieces that are roughly the size of peas and spread them out on a baking sheet. Drizzle the chopped mushrooms with 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle them with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir the mushrooms, olive oil, and salt around on the baking sheet, then spread them out in an even layer. Roast the mushrooms in the oven until they are dark, well-reduced, and slightly crisp, about 35 minutes.
• Line a strainer with cheesecloth or paper towels and set it over a bowl. Pour the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid into the strainer. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and stir in the mushroom base (if using). Set aside.
• If using shiitakes, cut away and discard the stems. Chop the mushrooms into pieces that are about the same size as the chopped cremini mushrooms.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the diced shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste, garlic, sumac, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute longer.
• Pour in the wine and cook, stirring every now and then, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.
• Add all the mushrooms and the reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Turn the heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until broth has reduced by a little more than half, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the Ragù from the heat, taste, and add more salt and pepper if you like. Set aside while you make the béchamel.
• Add the butter to a 3 quart or larger saucepan and set it over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Add the half and half gradually, whisking constantly as you slowly pour it into the saucepan. Add the nutmeg and red pepper flakes and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until the béchamel is thickened and does not taste like raw flour, about 12 minutes. (The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon; see photos above.)
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in 4.5 oz grated parmesan, stirring until the cheese is melted.
• Stir the fresh parsley and the mushroom ragù into the béchamel. Add salt and pepper to taste, then cover and set aside. (*See notes below for make-ahead instructions.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
• Lay the the noodles out in a 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle in 1 tablespoon salt. Add enough very hot water (about 140 degrees F/ 60 degrees C) to cover the noodles. Swish the noodles around in the water and then let stand for 10 minutes, moving them around once or twice to ensure they don't stick together.
• Remove the noodles from the water and lay them out on a clean kitchen towel. Pat dry with another towel or paper towels. Dump the water out of the baking dish and dry with a towel.
• Layer #1: Spread a thin layer of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the bottom of the dish. Lay 4 noodles in an even layer over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the noodles and top with 1/3 of the cheese.
• Layer #2: Lay 4 more noodles in an even layer over the last layer. Spread 1/3 of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the noodles and top with 1/3 of the cheese.
• Layer #3: Lay the remaining 4 noodles over the last layer, spread with the remaining béchamel and mushroom mixture, and top with the remaining cheese.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese across the top of the lasagna is melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with more fresh parsley before serving.