Mushroom and Chestnut Lasagne
A white lasagne with layers of roasted chestnuts, mushrooms, and sage between the most velvety and rich béchamel sauce.
Equipment
- 31 x 20 x 7 roasting tray (linked in blogpost)
- Whisk
Ingredients
- ~ 15 dried lasagne sheets a 500g box will cover this and more
For the mushroom and chestnut filling:
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
- 750 g chestnut mushrooms (baby bella in the US) roughly chopped
- 125 g shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 150 g oyster mushrooms sliced
- 180 g roasted chestnuts peeled
- 100 g spinach roughly chopped
- 250 g ricotta
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 shallots finely sliced
- 7 cloves garlic minced
- 20 g fresh sage roughly chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
For the béchamel sauce:
- 90 g butter
- 90 g plain flour
- 900 ml milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 tsp salt
Cheeses:
- 240 g fresh mozzarella
- 60 g good melting cheese edam/cheddar/gouda/emmental
Instructions
For the mushroom and chestnut filling:
- Sauté the mushrooms in oil on a high heat until they darken in colour and begin to caramelise. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan as this will cause the mushrooms to steam. Don't worry if they release some water, just keep cooking them until the water evaporates, they'll then begin to caramelise. Don't add any salt yet
- Once caramelised, they will begin to release a nutty aroma. Then transfer to a mixing bowl
- Add the spinach and chestnuts to the mixing bowl and toss to combine. The residual heat from the mushrooms will begin to wilt the spinach
- In a pan melt the butter over a medium-low heat and then add in the shallots, garlic, and sage. Sauté for several minutes and then add to the mixing bowl
- Add the ricotta to the mixture along with the salt and black pepper. Mix to combine and leave aside
For the béchamel sauce:
- Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until completely melted
- Then add in the flour and whisk to combine until it forms a thick golden paste (roux)
- Turn the heat to low and gradually add the milk to the roux in 4 increments whilst whisking thoroughly between each addition
- Turn the heat back up to medium and add the bay leaves, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix continuously and keep switching between a whisk and a spatula. This will ensure the sauce doesn’t catch at the bottom and will keep the sauce lump free
- Once the sauce has thickened and has a velvety smooth consistency, leave aside to cool. Check for seasoning and add 1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
To assemble the lasagne:
- Pre-heat your oven to 170’C fan/190’C conventional
- First pour a layer of béchamel sauce across the base of your deep tray. You want a decent layer at the base as this will allow the bottom layer of the lasagne to cook
- Then layer 3 lasagne sheets on top (see blogpost for a visual guide)
- Next place ¼ of the mushroom and chestnut filling over the lasagne sheets and spread into an even layer
- Pour more béchamel sauce over the filling, once again be generous here
- Now place another layer of lasagne sheets but try to alternate the angle as this will help to create structure for a clean slice
- Keep layering the lasagne following this structure: Lasagne sheets -> filling -> béchamel sauce -> lasagne sheets until you reach the final layer
- I’ve got 5 layers of lasagne sheets with 4 layers of filling. The final layer of lasagne sheets will be the top layer. Pour the remaining béchamel sauce all over this to submerge it.
- Top with some torn fresh mozzarella and grated cheese of choice
- Bake for 50-55 minutes. If the lasagne appears to be browning too much, loosely cover with some aluminium foil and continue baking
- Once baked leave to stand for 20 minutes before serving. This will allow the lasagne to firm up enough to cut a clean slice without it falling apart. It will still be very hot inside
Notes
See the blogpost for a visual guide of the recipe
The tray I've used is linked in the blogpost as well as other equipment I recommend