Artichoke and Mushroom Lasagna
There are so many reasons to love lasagna.
- It can be simple or fancy.
- It can be a meat lovers delight, a vegetarians dream, or you can combine your meat and veggies and create an omnivores dilemma! Get it? Anyway…I know Sarah does.
- It can be made with a red pasta sauce, a creamy white bechamel, or a fresh basil pesto sauce, and others.
- It can be prepared in advance, frozen and baked later.
- It can feed a crowd, or it can feed a couple for days and days!
- It can be enjoyed warm with oozing cheese, or cold from the fridge.
I love lasagna. This lasagna is a delicious veggie combination of mushrooms and artichokes in a rich bechamel sauce. Ben and I really enjoyed it, and brought a plate to our neighbor who also was pretty complimentary of the dish. The only criticism he gave was that it should have had a garnish of cilantro instead of parsley. He puts cilantro on everything. I think he might eat it on his cereal…
My iPhone is incredible. Epicurious has an app that I just love. I am able to search for a recipe while at the grocery store, get a shopping list, email the recipe to myself and have it waiting for me when I get home to cook. Modern technology is one of my best friends. That is how I found this recipe. Here is the link. I made a few changes to the recipe based on the time I had to make this meal and what I had at home. I used canned artichoke hearts instead of frozen since I did not have time to let them thaw. I also used regular lasagna noodles because I had some in the pantry. I used shredded mozzarella instead of sliced. I substituted vermouth with dry white wine that I had left over from another recipe. Despite the substitutions this lasagna was delicious and we enjoyed it for a few days. It was great reheated, and cold as well. This is something I would make again and serve at a dinner party or bring to a pot-luck.
Mushroom and Artichoke Lasagna
Bon Appetit, February 2002
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cans of artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
Béchamel sauce
- 4 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 4 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 7 1/2 ounces)
- Ground nutmeg
- 1 package lasagna noodles, prepared according to package directions to al dente
- 1 pound (4 cups) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
For filling:
- Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté until mushrooms release juices and begin to brown, about 7 minutes. Add artichokes and wine. Cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
For béchamel sauce:
- Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce thickens and lightly coats spoon, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg.
- Spread 2/3 cup béchamel sauce over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with enough noodles to cover bottom of dish. Spread 1/4 of artichoke mixture over. Spoon 2/3 cup béchamel sauce over. Top béchamel with 1/4 of mozzarella.
- Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with enough noodles to cover. Repeat layering 3 more times, finishing with a layer of noodles, then remaining béchamel. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna covered with foil 1 hour (or 1 hour 15 minutes if chilled). Remove foil. Increase temperature to 450°F. Bake lasagna until golden on top, about 10 minutes longer.
March 16, 2010 @ 8:00 pm
A hit with the family! I added chicken to the very bottom layer because I didn’t plan very well and I had to cook it tonight. Not too much though, only on one layer. It could quickly overtake the creamy texture of the sauce and mushroom filling. Also, I’m glad to report that 2% milk worked just fine.