Go Back Email Link
+ servings
Ottolenghi lasagne on a plate garnished with parsley.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Ottolenghi Lasagne With Mushroom Ragu

Deep rich flavours here.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 50 minutes
Resting Time5 minutes
Total Time2 hours 25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 402kcal

Ingredients

Mushroom Ragu

  • 1000 grams fresh mushroom, mixed portabella, cremini, King oyster, Brown Beech 2.2 lbs
  • 36 grams dried mushrooms, porcini and mixed 1.25 oz
  • 9 Tbsps olive oil plus more for greasing the pan divided 3 +4 +2
  • 2 ½ tsps salt divided 1 + 1 ⅕
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 dried Thai red chili seeds removed if you want less heat and rough chopped
  • 500 ml hot beef stock 2 cups (use vegetables broth per original recipe to keep it vegetarian)
  • 1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 medium carrot trimmed, peeled and cut in quarters
  • 3 roma tomatoes quartered, stem site removed
  • 75 grams tomato paste 2.5 ounces
  • 130 ml 10% cream ½ cup (reserve 2 Tbsps to drizzle over top of lasagne)

Lasagne

  • 60 grams Pecorino Romano grated 2 oz
  • 60 grams Parmesan grated 2 oz
  • 5 grams basil leaves, minced about 7
  • 10 grams parsley, minced about ¼ cup
  • 250 grams oven ready lasagne sheets about 14 sheets (See Note 1 if using regular lasagne.)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450 °. Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper.
  • Clean fresh mushrooms and trim as necessary. Pulse in batches in food processor until finely chopped.
  • Toss chopped mushrooms with 3 Tbsps olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread mixture out evenly on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Mushrooms will have browned and shrunk considerably.
  • Set mushrooms aside and reduce oven to 400°.
  • Add dried mushrooms and Thai chili to the hot stock and allow to sit 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms, reserving the juice/stock. Rough chop rehydrated mushrooms and chili. Top up to liquid to make 340 ml. (about 1 ½ cups) Set mushrooms and stock aside till ready to use.
  • Pulse onion, carrot and garlic in food processor until they are minced.
  • Heat 4 Tbsps oil in a large Dutch oven. Saute the onion mixture on medium high heat about 8 minutes. Stir a few times.
  • Add the tomatoes to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the onion mixture along with 1 ½ tsps salt and 1 ¾ teaspoon black pepper. Saute another 7 minutes stirring periodically.
  • Add the rehydrated mushroom mixture and the roasted mushrooms to the tomato mixture and cook about 9 minutes. Do not stir, you want the mushrooms to brown a bit on the bottom of the pan.
  • After 9 minutes, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the reserved stock to the mixture along with 800 ml (about 3 ⅓ cups) of water. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and allow mixture to simmer about 25 minutes.
  • Reserve 1 tablespoon of cream to drizzle over the top of the lasagne. Add the remaining cream to the ragu mixture. Cook 2 minutes then remove ragu from the heat.
  • Ragu can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.

Assembly

  • Mix the cheeses and the basil and parsley in a bowl.
  • Grease a deep 8 X 12 " oven proof pan. Spread ⅕ of the ragu on the bottom. Top with ⅕ of the cheese, then a layer of lasagne noodles. Break noodles to fit your pan. Repeat layers 3 more times and end with a layer of ragu and cheese. You will have 5 layers of sauce and cheese and 4 layers of pasta.
  • Drizzle 1 tablespoon of reserved cream and 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 30 minutes more. Finally broil for 2 minutes until the top is brown and crispy.
  • Allow lasagne to cool 5 minutes, then drizzle last tablespoon of cream and oil over the top. Garnish with more fresh parsley and fresh black pepper if desired.

Notes

Note 1:   If using regular lasagne noodles boil them just before you are ready to assemble the lasagne.  Drain and rinse them. Then assemble as per the instructions.  Bake 15 minutes covered at 400, then uncover and bake 12  minutes more.  Broil for 2 minutes to crisp up the top.

Nutrition

Calories: 402kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 1711mg | Potassium: 926mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1082IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 276mg | Iron: 2mg