Spicy mushroom lasagne recipe
What could be more autumnal than a mushroom lasagne packed with chilli?
Lasagne is a failsafe dish, but sometimes the classics need a bit of an update. Look no further than this dish, elevating a veggie lasagne with four types of mushrooms and a healthy helping of spice.
Spicy mushroom lasagne from Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage
Ingredients:
( Serves six)
750g chestnut mushrooms ( Portobello), halved
500g oyster mushrooms
( champiñon ostra)
135ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
60g dried porcini mushrooms ( seta calabaza)
30g dried wild mushrooms 2 dried red chillies, roughly chopped ( deseeded for less heat) 500ml hot vegetable stock 1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered ( 90g)
2– 3 plum tomatoes, quartered ( 200g)
75g tomato paste
130ml double cream
60g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
60g Parmesan, finely grated 5g basil leaves, finely chopped
10g parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra tsp to serve
250g dried lasagne sheets ( about 14 sheets)
Salt and black pepper Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 230° C fan.
2. Put the chestnut and oyster mushrooms into the large bowl of a food processor in three or four batches and pulse each batch until finely chopped ( or finely chop everything by hand). Toss the chopped mushrooms in a large bowl with three tablespoons of oil and one teaspoon of salt and spread out on a large, 40cm x 35cm parchmentlined, rimmed baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes near the top of the oven, stirring three times throughout, until the mushrooms are goldenbrown; they will have reduced in volume significantly. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 200° C fan.
3. Meanwhile, combine the dried mushrooms, chillies and hot stock in a large bowl and set aside to soak for half an hour. Strain the liquid into another bowl, squeezing as much liquid from the mushrooms as possible to get about 340ml: if you have any less, top up with water. Very roughly chop the rehydrated mushrooms ( you want some chunks) and finely chop the chillies. Set the stock and mushrooms aside separately.
4. Put the onion, garlic and carrot into the food processor and pulse until finely chopped ( or finely chop everything by hand). Heat 60ml of oil in a large sauté pan or pot on a mediumhigh heat. Once hot, add the onion mixture and fry for eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Pulse the tomatoes in the food processor until finely chopped ( or finely chop by hand), then add to the pan along with the tomato paste, oneandahalf teaspoons of salt and oneandthreequarter teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper. Cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rehydrated mushrooms and chillies and the roasted mushrooms and cook for nine minutes, resisting the urge to stir: you want the mushrooms to be slightly crisp and browned on the bottom. Stir in the reserved stock and 800ml of water and, once simmering, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you get the consistency of a ragù. Stir in 100ml of the cream and simmer for another two minutes, then remove from the heat.
5. Combine both cheeses and both herbs in a small bowl. To assemble the lasagne, spread onefifth of the sauce in the bottom of a round 28cm baking dish ( or a 30cm x 20cm rectangular dish), then top with a fifth of the cheese mixture, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, broken to fit where necessary. Repeat these layers three more times in that order, and finish with a final layer of sauce and cheese: that’s five layers of sauce and cheese and four layers of pasta.
6. Drizzle over one tablespoon of cream and one tablespoon of oil, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the temperature to 220° C fan and bake for another 12 minutes, turning the dish round halfway. Turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for a final two minutes, until the edges are brown and crisp. Set aside to cool for five or so minutes, then drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of cream and oil. Sprinkle over the remaining parsley, finish with a good grind of pepper and serve.