This porcini mushroom lasagna is right up there among the most delicious things we’ve ever made. It combines two of our favorite umami-laden sauces: meaty porcini mushroom ragu and silky Vacche Rosse béchamel. Both can be made up to three days in advance, and in fact their flavor deepens over time. Together with Faella’s textural, elegant lasagna sheets, this dish is a masterpiece of late winter cooking.
Like all lasagna, this one needs to rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Be patient and plan ahead, the payoff is more than worth it.
Ingredients
SERVES: 8
TIME: 4 hours
- Faella Lasagna, 700g / 1.5lbs
- Mushroom Ragu (1 recipe, about 600g / 1.3 lbs of ragu)
- Butter, 115g / 8 Tbsp
- Flour, 60g / 8 Tbsp
- Whole milk, 1.9L / 8 cups
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Coarse sea salt, to taste
- Vacche Rosse Cheese, 100g /about 1 cup + 200g / about 2 cups, finely grated
- Fontina, 350g / about 4 cups, coarsely grated
Preparation
- First, make the porcini mushroom ragu.
- Next, prepare the Vacche Rosse béchamel. Gently heat the milk in a microwave or a small saucepan. You don’t want it to be too cold when you start adding it to the roux. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes, ensuring the flour doesn’t burn. Gradually whisk in the warmed milk. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or so, until the mixture thickens a bit and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the 200g /2 cups finely grated Vacche Rosse cheese. Taste and season with fine sea salt and white pepper. Make sure you don’t overcook your béchamel! Faella’s lasagna will absorb a great amount of sauce, so you don’t want your béchamel to be too thick.
- Time to precook the lasagna sheets. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, seasoned with coarse sea salt. Cover a large section of your countertop or kitchen table with baking paper. This is where you’ll lay out your pre-cooked lasagna sheets. This way, you can be certain they won’t stick together. Working in batches, parboil the lasagna sheets for five minutes. Using tongs, so you can reuse the cooking water, remove them, and lay them out on the baking paper.
- Now assemble your lasagna. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Start with a layer of béchamel on the bottom of a 9×11 inch (23×28 cm) casserole dish or lasagna pan. Next, place a layer of lasagna sheets over the béchamel. You can use scissors to cut them to the exact size of your pan. Cover the pasta with another layer of béchamel, then dot with the porcini ragu. Sprinkle with the Fontina cheese. Create two more layers in the same manner: pasta, béchamel, porcini ragu, cheese. Top the final layer of pasta with the remaining béchamel and the 100g/1 cup Vacche Rosse cheese.
- Cover your lasagna with foil to keep the moisture in, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, then broil for 5 minutes or until the top has browned to your satisfaction. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
