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.