Jono & Jules do food & wine

We’re always on the lookout for a vegetarian lasagne and this one worked well and tasted great. It’s rich so a salad on the side is all that’s needed. Make on the weekend when you’re in no hurry.

Mushroom lasagne – to serve 8

MUSHROOMS:

• 35g dried porcini mushrooms
• 400ml lukewarm water
• 60g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 800g mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced if large
• 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley

LASAGNE

• 60g unsalted butter
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 60g plain flour
• 550ml milk
• 375g ricotta
• 1 large free-range egg
• 150g feta, crumbled
• 170g Gruyère, grated
• 400g lasagne verde
• 150g fontina cheese (or mozzarella), granted
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• salt and white pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Cover the porcini with the lukewarm water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.

Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. When foaming add the thyme, porcini and fresh mushrooms. Cook for 4 minutes, or until softened and have released their juice, stirring now and then. Take off the heat and stir in the tarragon, parsley and some salt and pepper. Tip into a bowl and set aside.

Use the same pan to make a béchamel. Put the butter and shallot in the pan and cook over a medium heat for about a minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes; the mix will turn into a paste but shouldn’t take on much colour. Gradually whisk in the milk and porcini soaking liquid, leaving any grit behind. Add ½ tsp salt and keep whisking until boiling. Simmer on a low heat, don’t stop stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until thickish. Take off the heat.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta with the egg, then fold in 3 tbsp of the béchamel and the feta. Add the Gruyère to the remaining béchamel in the pan and stir well to get your main sauce.

Pour boiling water over the lasagne leaves (a few at a time so they don’t stick together) and soak for 2 minutes; remove and dry on a tea towel.

To build the lasagne, pour one-fifth of the sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish (about 25 x 35 cm). Cover with lasagne leaves. Spread ¼ of the ricotta mix on top, scatter over ¼ of the mushrooms and sprinkle with ¼ of the fontina. Make three more layers like this, then finish with a layer of pasta covered with sauce.

Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and cover loosely with foil (so it’s not touching the sauce). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling up around the sides. Lift off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Wine Suggestion: You’ve plenty of choices here. You could go for a Chardonnay to complement the rich mushroom sauce or if you prefer red go for something earthy like a Barbera.

(Original recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, Ebury Press, 2010.)