I took an even-longer weekend, and used one of my days in tidying the kitchen.  I looked through my recipes to try board and was inspired by mushroom lasagna.  It’s a good recipe for a weekend: kind of involved (so many pots!), but kind of not (sauté some mushrooms, make a bechamel, bake them together with some pasta).

I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe: I added some minced garlic to the béchamel and I used brown mushrooms instead of portabellos.  Also, I made more mushrooms and béchamel because I think it’s ridiculous to use 3/4s of a box of lasagna noodles.  I ended up with one 9×13″ pan of lasagna and one 8×8″ pan of lasagna, with a couple of cooked noodles left over (which I think I’ll turn into a teensy little tomato lasagna for a lunch sometime).  In the big pan, I didn’t overlap the noodles; in the little one, I did.

This is a great dish for freezing.  Use a foil pan, and do everything through assembling the lasagna.  Then let it cool (if it isn’t already), cover tightly with foil, and freeze it.

I wouldn’t use no-boil lasagna noodles in this dish.  Those work better if you’ve got a sauce with a lot of liquid, and this sauce isn’t it.

Ingredients

• salt
• olive oil
• 1 pound dried lasagna noodles
• 6 cups whole milk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2-1/4 pounds brown mushrooms, sliced 1/4″ thick
• 1-1/2 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 if you’re making this now. Leave the oven alone if you’re freezing it for later.

Boil the pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add about a tablespoon of salt and a splash of olive oil.  Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain the lasagna noodles and set aside.

(If you’re trying to reduce the number of pots you have to clean, give this a quick wash if it needs it, and reuse it for cooking the mushrooms.)

Make the béchamel

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and garlic.  Bring to a simmer, then set aside.

Melt 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) of butter in a large saucepan.  Add the flour, turn the flame to low, and whisk constantly for 1 minute.  Add the warm milk in a steady stream, whisking all the while.  Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Cook over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, for 3-5 minutes.  The béchamel should be thick but not lumpy.

Saute the mushrooms

In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over a medium flame.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil, 1/3 of the mushrooms, and a good sprinkle of salt.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and start to release some of their liquid.  If the mushrooms become too dry, add a little bit of butter or oil.  Set the mushrooms aside.  Repeat for the rest of the mushrooms.

Assemble the lasagna

Spread some of the béchamel in the bottom of your 9×13″ baking pan.  Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more béchamel, then 1/4 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2-3 more times, layering noodles, béchamel, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and béchamel, and sprinkle with some more Parmesan.  Repeat in your 8×8″ baking pan until all noodles, béchamel, and mushrooms are gone.

If you’re planning on freezing, stop here.  Let the assembled lasagna cool, cover tightly with foil.

Bake the lasagna

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.