White Lasagne With Pumpkin And Mushrooms Food

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
• For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.
• Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.
• To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
• Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

WILD MUSHROOM LASAGNE

Steps:

• Make filling:
• In a small saucepan bring water to a boil and remove pan from heat. Stir in porcini. Soak porcini 20 minutes. Lift out porcini, squeezing out excess liquid, and reserve soaking liquid. In a sieve rinse porcini to remove any grit and pat dry. Chop porcini and transfer to a large bowl. Simmer reserved soaking liquid until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Pour liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into bowl with porcini.
• Quarter white mushrooms and in a food processor pulse in 3 batches until finely chopped. Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch dice. Chop onion and mince garlic. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook one third white mushrooms with 2 tablespoons Sherry, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they begin to brown. Add mushroom mixture to porcini. Cook remaining mushrooms in 2 batches in butter with remaining Sherry in same manner and add to porcini mixture. In skillet cook zucchini in 1 tablespoon butter until tender and stir into porcini mixture. In skillet cook onion in remaining tablespoon butter, stirring, until softened. Stir in garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir onion into mushroom mixture until combined. Filling may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Make sauce:
• In a 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes and whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, mustard, and salt. Remove pan from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper. Sauce may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature before proceeding.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter a 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
• Assemble lasagne:
• Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in baking dish and cover with 3 pasta sheets, making sure they don't touch each other. Spread one third filling over pasta sheets in dish and top with 3 more pasta sheets, gently pressing down layers to remove air pockets. Top pasta sheets with one third mozzarella. Continue layering in same manner with sauce, pasta sheets, filling, and mozzarella, ending with mozzarella (dish will be filled to rim). Spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with Parmesan. On a foil-lined large baking sheet bake lasagne in middle of oven until bubbling and golden, about 45 minutes. Let lasagne stand 20 minutes. Lasagne may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lasagne to room temperature and reheat before serving.

ROAST PUMPKIN & SPINACH LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Halve the pumpkin or squash, peel, deseed, then slice into 1cm slices. Toss with the oil in a roasting tin, season, then roast until tender and slightly charred at the edges. This can take up to 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. In a pan, soften the onion in the oil for 5 mins, then add the celery and garlic and cook for 1 min more. Add the tomatoes and sugar, then leave to simmer, uncovered, for 30 mins. Stir from time to time. You should be left with a thick purée. Season to taste.
• Put the spinach in a saucepan with the water that still clings to it after washing, cover and put over a medium heat. Wilt the spinach for about 4 mins - you'll need to turn it over with tongs every so often to make sure it all comes in contact with the heat at the bottom of the pan. When completely wilted, leave until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the water out with your hands. Chop and put in a pan with the butter. Gently heat, tossing together so the spinach is coated in butter, then season with salt, pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg.
• For the béchamel sauce, bring the milk to the boil in a pan with the peppercorns, onion and bay leaf. Set aside for 5 mins to infuse, then strain the milk into another pan. Add the flour and butter, then gently heat, whisking all the while, until you have a thick, smooth sauce.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and assemble the lasagne. Butter a large gratin or baking dish, roughly 1.4 litres in capacity. Put a layer of pumpkin in the bottom followed by a layer of tomato sauce. Lay lasagne sheets on top of this, cutting them to fit if necessary (you don't want any overlapping). Now add a layer of béchamel followed by a scattering of spinach and half the cheese. Top with more lasagne sheets, pumpkin, tomato sauce, more lasagne and a final layer of béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 40 mins, or until the lasagne is golden and bubbling.

WHITE LASAGNE

Steps:

• Make sauce:
• In a saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream and bring mixture to a boil, whisking until thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce over low heat, whisking occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes, or until thickened. Transfer sauce to a bowl and cover surface with a buttered round of wax paper.
• Make filling:
• Into a small bowl crumble oregano, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme. Thinly slice mushrooms. Discard coarse stems from spinach and coarsely chop spinach. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch strips. In a large skillet melt butter over moderate heat and cook chicken, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, and half of herb mixture, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
• Add wine to skillet and bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Add mushrooms and spinach and cook, covered, until spinach is wilted. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, remaining herb mixture, Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid given off by mushrooms is evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to chicken and stir until combined well. Reserving 1 cup sauce, add remaining sauce with salt and pepper to taste to chicken mixture and stir until combined well.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish (3-quart).
• In a bowl whisk together ricotta, egg, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour 1/2 cup reserved sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread half of chicken mixture over pasta sheets in dish and top with another 3 pasta sheets. Spread half of ricotta mixture over pasta and top with another 3 pasta sheets.
• Continue layering lasagne in same manner with remaining chicken mixture, pasta sheets, and ricotta mixture, ending with pasta. Spread remaining ‚ cup sauce over top and sprinkle with Parmesan. Lasagne may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bake lasagne in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until bubbling and golden.

PUMPKIN AND MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large pot, sauté the onions in the oil for five minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another five minutes, until the mushrooms are somewhat wilted. Add the sage, 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the wine or stock and simmer on low heat for five minutes. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin, ricotta cheese, pepper, nutmeg and remaining salt. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Dip out about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the sautéed mushrooms and pour it into the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of lasagna noodles arranged close together. Evenly spread on half of the pumpkin mixture. Spoon on about a third of the sautéed mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of ricotta salata. Add a second layer of noodles followed by the remaining pumpkin mixture, another third of the sautéed mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of ricotta salata. Finish with a third layer of noodles thoroughly moistened by the last third of the sautéed mushrooms. Evenly sprinkle on 1/2 cup of ricotta salata and top with the grated Pecorino.
• Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the lasagna is bubbly, the noodles are tender, and the top is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.