Italian Ricotta Mushroom Lasagne al Forno (baked lasagna)

5 from 63 votes

Italian Ricotta Mushroom Lasagne al Forno (baked lasagna)

Made with Southern Italian wavy lasagna riccia, creamy fresh ricotta and porcini mushrooms, this beautiful vegetarian baked lasagna tastes as divine as it looks!

Prep Time35

Cook Time45

Resting time10

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Southern Italian

Keyword: baked pasta recipe, lasagna, lasagne, mushrooms, pasta al forno, porcini, ricotta

Servings:

Calories: 1079kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

6-8 sheets large lasagne (ricce/wavy) I used lasagne from La Fabbrica della Pasta di Gragnano
400 g fresh ricotta (14oz) I used cow's milk ricotta
200 g Parmigiano Reggiano (7oz) grated (or vegetarian hard cheese without animal rennet)
2 garlic cloves peeled
500 g criminis or button mushrooms (17oz) washed and sliced
200 g fresh or frozen porcini mushrooms (7oz) I used frozen. You can also used dried porcini.
fresh parsley (as required) washed and chopped
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
1 knob butter
salt for pasta and to taste
ground black pepper to taste
½ glass white wine

For béchamel

1 Lt fresh milk (33 floz)
100 g '00' or all purpose flour (3.5oz)
100 g butter (3.5 oz)
nutmeg grated

Instructions

Prepare the pasta

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Once it starts to boil add salt and a tbsp. of olive oil. Half cook the lasagne sheets. I did 2-3 at a time. I removed them from the water with a slotted spoon and laid them out separately on a clean tea towel.

Prepare the mushrooms

Wash and chop the parsley. Peel the garlic. Clean and slice the mushrooms. (If using dried porcini you will need to soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes beforehand. Then drain and add to the other mushrooms)
Heat a knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add the garlic cloves and sliced cremini mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are starting to brown. Add the porcini and cook for a couple of minutes more. Add some chopped parsley, black pepper, a pinch of salt and the white wine. Turn up the heat and let the alcohol evaporate. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
When the mushrooms have cooled a bit, blend into smaller pieces in a food processor. You don’t want to puree the mushrooms, so don’t blend for too long. If you don’t have a processor, chop them into small pieces with a knife.

Prepare the ricotta

Put the ricotta in a bowl with half the grated parmigiana. Add some black pepper and a pinch of salt and mix together well.

Make the béchamel (white sauce)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, incorporate the sifted flour and continue to mix with a wooden spoon until you have a roux (paste made of flour and butter)
Cook the roux until it is golden, and at this point add the milk a little at a time, plus a pinch of salt and a ½ teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Continue stirring until the sauce reaches the consistency you want. If your béchamel seems lumpy, you can use a hand held blender to make it smooth.

Assemble your Italian ricotta mushroom lasagne al forno.

Spread a little béchamel over the bottom of a rectangular oven dish. Put 2 lasagne in the dish. spread half the ricotta along the middle of the lasagne. Add some of the mushroom mixture, a little béchamel and some grated parmigiano. Repeat with another 2 lasagne, the rest of the ricotta, mushrooms, béchamel and grated cheese. Add another layer of lasagne. Spread the last of the mushrooms on this top layer. Cover with the remaining béchamel and then sprinkle the remaining parmigiano over the top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for about 30 minutes until the top is crispy and the pasta cooked. If the pasta needs more time, cover with aluminium foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Let your ricotta mushroom lasagna stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. It will net to set a little.

Notes

This baked lasagna can be made with other brands of wavy or normal lasagne. If using homemade lasagne cooking times will be shorter. If you live in US and want to buy the same lasagne I used check out the SupermarketItaly online store. They sell it.

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