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| Food for Thought | |
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| WILD MUSHROOM LASAGNA | |
| 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms Salt 1/4 cup olive oil 15 Tbs unsalted butter 2 lbs mushrooms, preferably cremini, cleaned and coarsely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 14 1/2 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped |
1/4 cup chopped Italian
parsley Freshly ground black pepper 1 1-lb box lasagna noodles ? cup flour 4 cups milk 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 6 oz thinly sliced prosciutto |
| 1 | Soak porcini mushrooms in 2 cups warm water for at least 30 minutes. Lift them out carefully, reserving liquid. Rinse them well, and pat dry. Chop coarsely, and set aside. Strain soaking liquid through sieve lined with paper towel to remove grit. Set aside. |
| 2 | Bring large pot of water with 1 Tbs salt to rolling boil. |
| 3 | Heat the oil and 4 Tbs butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until the liquid they release evaporates. Add the porcini and their liquid, along with the onion, tomatoes, and parsley. Stir. Partly cover pan, and cook until liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper to taste. |
| 4 | Lay noodles into boiling water, bring to boil again, and cook 5-7 minutes. Drain immediately, rinse individually under cold running water, and lay flat on paper towels to dry. |
| 5 | Heat oven to 425. Melt 8 Tbs butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 3 - 5 minutes until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk. Raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth, about 8 - 10 minutes. Season with nutmeg, and salt to taste. |
| 6 | Use 1 Tbs butter to grease 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch lasagna pan. Line the bottom with a slightly overlapping layer of noodles. Spread one-third of the mushroom mixture over the pasta. Top with a quarter of the white sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. Cover with slices of prosciutto. Repeat sequence 2 more times. Cover with one last layer of pasta, top with the remaining sauce and cheese, and dot with 2 Tbs butter. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. |
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Hope Hageman |
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| Served at the Winter Warm-up, 3/03 |