I made this lasagna on a Sunday when it was raining and I needed something warm in the oven for hours. It’s the kind of thing I keep coming back to — no meat, no tomato sauce, just creamy bechamel, dark sauteed mushrooms, and a ricotta-spinach layer that holds everything together. My friends ask for the recipe every time, so here it is.
You’ll need about 75 minutes. Most of that is hands-off oven time. The fiddly part is the bechamel, but once you’ve made it twice it’s nothing.
What you need
Twelve regular lasagna sheets, cooked al dente. I lay them flat on a kitchen towel so they don’t stick.
For the mushrooms — a pound and a half of mixed mushrooms (cremini and shiitake if you can find them, plain button mushrooms work too), four cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of olive oil, a good pinch of salt.
For the spinach-ricotta filling — ten ounces of fresh spinach (wilted in the same pan you used for mushrooms), two cups of whole-milk ricotta, one egg, half a cup of grated parmesan, a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg, salt and pepper.
For the bechamel — four tablespoons each of butter and flour, three cups of warm whole milk, that same quarter teaspoon of nutmeg, half a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of white pepper.
On top, two cups of shredded mozzarella and another half cup of parmesan. Fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil to finish.
How I make it
Heat the oven to 375. Cook the noodles, drain them, lay them out flat.
While they cook, get a big skillet very hot and put the mushrooms in with the olive oil. Don’t stir them for the first three minutes — you want them to brown, not steam. Then stir, add the garlic and salt, give it another three minutes.
Wilt the spinach in the same pan. Once it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the water out (this matters — wet spinach makes the lasagna soggy) and mix it with the ricotta, egg, parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
For the bechamel: melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in the flour, cook for a minute until it smells like warm cookie dough. Then slowly stream in the warm milk, whisking the whole time so you don’t get lumps. Let it bubble for about five minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Season it.
Now the layering. Spread a thin layer of bechamel on the bottom of a 9×13 dish. Then noodles, ricotta-spinach, mushrooms, more bechamel, a handful of mozzarella. Repeat three times. End with a generous layer of mozzarella and parmesan on top.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Take the foil off and bake another 15 until the top is golden and bubbling. Let it rest for ten minutes before you cut it — I know it’s hard, but if you cut it right away it falls apart.
Tear some basil over the top, drizzle a little olive oil, serve.
A few notes
Leftovers are honestly better the next day. It keeps in the fridge for four days, or you can freeze the whole thing (baked or unbaked) for up to three months.
If you want to make it ahead, assemble it the day before, wrap it tight, and bake it from cold — just add ten minutes to the oven time.
I sometimes add a layer of thinly sliced zucchini for extra vegetables. You can also stir cooked Italian sausage into the mushrooms if you want meat. Both work.
