Francesca Andreanilasagna, mushrooms, spinach, mushroom ragu, christmasComment

Christmas Party Lasagna

Francesca Andreanilasagna, mushrooms, spinach, mushroom ragu, christmasComment
Christmas Party Lasagna

It's been a while (as you can tell by the fact that our last post was about tomatoes, and this one is about Christmas.) It's been a great, but busy, couple of months and our New Years resolution is to NOT allow so much time to lapse between posts.

On to the good stuff: lasagna. I'll write much more about lasagna, it's history, why it's so important to our family, but since this post is already so long, I'll keep this intro short. This is our family's Christmas party lasagna. It takes so long to make, but it feeds a whole crowd, perfect for the holiday party. Not to mention the colors, reds and greens, are so damn festive.

The typical lasagna Bolognese has many super thin layers of fresh pasta each sandwiched with a layer of besciamella, ragu Bolognese and a dusting of parmigiano. This is the same, just with a rich porcini ragu instead of the more typical meat version. What I'm saying is: this is a vegetarian main dish that you can make ahead for a giant crowd. All of your problems are solved.

SERVING DETAILS

6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

  • 450 grams all-purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200 grams of fresh spinach

RAGU

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 100-200 grams dried porcini mushrooms
  • 400-500 grams of fresh mushrooms such as cremini, chestnut or shittake, roughly chopped into 1 inch cubes.
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 1 28 oz can of chopped or whole peeled san marzano or plum tomatoes with no additional flavorings
  • salt & pepper

BESCIAMELLA

  • 50 grams of butter
  • 50 grams of flour
  • ½ liters of milk
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Teaspoon of salt

Fresh parmigiano, grated finely, you need about 1 ½ cups.

METHOD

PREP THE MUSHROOMS

  1. Submerge the dried porcini mushrooms in 3.5 cups of cold water and set aside to soak for at least 2 hours.

MAKE THE DOUGH

  1. Wash spinach and submerge in a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the spinach and run under cold water for a moment to cool.
  2. Using cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel, squeeze the water out of the spinach and then using a food processor (or by hand) very finely mince the spinach. It should look almost like a paste.
  3. Make a mound with the flour on a clean flat surface like countertop. Dig a hole in the center of the mound, pushing the flour to sides, creating a nest with the flour. Crack the eggs into the center, add the spinach and a pinch of salt.
  4. Using a fork, whisk the eggs, spinach and and salt, slowly incorporating the flour a little at a time.
  5. Mix with the fork until it’s no longer possible, and then start kneading with your hands. Knead in all the flour, at which point the dough will be tough and no longer sticky.
  6. Continue kneading, stretching the dough with your palm and pulling back with your fingers, for approximately 20 minutes until it is stiff and springy.  If it’s not stiff, add more flour.
  7. Wrap with clingwrap and put in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours to rest.  

MAKE THE RAGU

  1. Heat the oil and butter together in a large high-sided pan or dutch-oven pot. Add the onion and garlic and a pinch of salt and saute over med-low heat until translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile drain the porcini, squeezing through a cheesecloth and reserving all the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through a thick cheesecloth to filter out any sand from the mushrooms, and get a clear broth.
  3. Chop the porcini and add to the pan with the onions. Sautee over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the mushroom broth/ soaking liquid to the pan and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and saute until the the liquid is reduced by at least half.  
  5. Add most of the fresh mushrooms to the pan and another pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper. Save a handful of the fresh mushrooms for use later.  
  6. Blitz the tomatoes in the food processor quickly until smooth and add to the pan.
  7. Bring to a simmer and turn the heat to low and partially cover.
  8. Cook for 2-3 hours, until the sauce is a dark brick red and the oil pools just around the edges. Stir frequently, as the mushrooms are heavy and will sink to the bottom of the pan and stick if you’re not keeping an eye on the sauce. 30 minutes before the sauce is finished, add the last handful of fresh mushrooms for a contrast of textures. While the ragu simmers, make the besciamella.

MAKE THE BESCIAMELLA

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot.
  2. Whisk in the flour over medium-low heat and cook for 1.5 minutes, whisking constantly being careful not to let the mixture turn too dark.
  3. Whisk in the milk, slowly, whisking out the clumps as you go, and bring to a simmer. Add a pinch of nutmeg.
  4. Cook until thickened to a sauce-like consistency, and easily coats the back of a wooden spoon but still has some fluidity. Remove from heat and cover.

ROLL OUT THE PASTA

  1. Prep the pasta machine with the flat sheet roller. I use a stand mixer pasta attachment. Set up a station, such as a kitchen table with a clean tablecloth laid on top, to lay the pasta sheets flat once rolled out.
  2. Using about 75 grams at a time, feed a small piece of dough through the roller, on the first setting. Use the first setting to run the dough a few times, folding as you go, to make a square shape.
  3. Once you have a square shape, move on to the rest of the settings, feeding the dough through each setting once.
  4. Lay the pasta sheet on the table to dry.
  5. Repeat with the rest of the dough, using 75g at a time.

ASSEMBLY

  1. You’re going to need to set up a station, and it helps to have more than one person doing this part. Set a large pot of heavily salted water to boil on the stove. Set up a an area on a counter top or kitchen table with a large buttered roasting dish, the pot of besciamella and a wooden spoon, the pot of ragu and another wooden spoon, and a large area with clean kitchen towels laid out.
  2. Cut your first piece of dough that you rolled out into 5 or 6 segments, and drop them into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon or a spider and lay them completely flat on the clean kitchen towels in your assembly station to drain and cool. Using the spoon make sure you lay the pasta sheets out flat immediately on the towels or they will form a clump.
  3. Do this step again with your next sheet of pasta.
  4. When the pasta sheets are able to be handled, line the roasting dish with a single layer of the pasta, leaving no gaps but not overlapping the pieces too much. Make sure that your pasta rides up the sides just a little along the edges of the pan.
  5. On top of the pasta spread on a thin layer of the besciamella, followed by a thin layer of the ragu and then sprinkle the parmigiano on top.
  6. Repeat what you just did with the next layer of pasta, and continue, alternating between boiling the pasta and assembling the lasagna.
  7. You’ll want the entire pan filled as high as you can, we usually get about 10 - 12 layers, depending on the size of the pan, but the more the better!
  8. End with a layer of pasta with besciamella and a sprinkle of cheese on top, but no ragu.
  9. The hard work is finally over. At this stage, you can place the assembled lasagna in the refrigerator until you’re about 1 hour away from dinner time, at which point, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  10. Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, keeping an eye to make sure it doesn’t burn, but it will catch just a little around the very edges which is ok. If the top is cooking too quickly, top with a little foil.
  11. When finished, cut into squares to serve!