A big sexy dish with layers of pasta, a rich mushroom and cheese filling and a creamy sauce – so delicious! I took this along with a salad with creamy lemon champagne vinaigrette and a pound cake to a friend and her family tonight as they are preparing to bury her sweet daddy who slipped off to Heaven last night. It serves a bunch and is easy to warm if need be. Also if there’s any left, it’s even better the next day.
Ingredients:
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 – 1 pound of Italian sausage (ground)
- 12 tablespoons butter, divided (1 stick plus 4 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, divided
- 1-1/2 – 2 pounds mushrooms, cleaned, remove stems and sliced (mix the types if you like)
- 1-1/2 cups freshly Five Italian Cheeses, divided
- 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese (or just use more of the Italian Cheeses which you can purchase at grocery)
- Sea salt
- Oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
Cook sausage in skillet with a little oil for about 3 minutes; add onion and continue cooking until onion is translucent. Set aside.
For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan; set aside. Melt 1 stick of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon basil, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until thick. Set aside off the heat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and half of the remaining basil; and cook over medium heat for about 5 – 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and beginning to turn golden. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.
To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 12-inch baking dish (sprayed with non-stick coating). Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/3 of sausage onion mixture, and 1/3 cup grated Italian Cheeses. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Italian cheese. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the Gruyere and remaining Italian Cheeses.
Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot. You may garnish with chopped fresh parsley if you like.
