Spicy mushroom lasagne recipe

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The rich ragù gives any meat sauce a run for its money and can easily be made vegan if you lose the cream. It can also be made ahead and refrigerated, ready to be served with pasta or polenta, saving yourself the trouble of constructing the lasagne if you’re short on time.

If you want to get ahead, the lasagne can be assembled, refrigerated and then baked the next day (once it’s come back up to room temperature).

Ingredients

750 g chestnut mushrooms, halved
500 g oyster mushrooms
135 ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
60 g dried porcini mushrooms
30 g dried wild mushrooms
2 dried chillis, roughly chopped (deseeded for less heat)
500 ml hot vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered (90g/3oz)
2 –3 plum tomatoes, quartered (200g/7oz)
75 g tomato paste
130 ml double cream
60 g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
60 g Parmesan, finely grated
5 g basil leaves, finely chopped
10 g parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra tsp to serve
250 g dried lasagne sheets (approx 14 sheets)
1 pinch each of salt and black pepper

26.5 oz chestnut mushrooms, halved
17.6 oz oyster mushrooms
4.8 fl oz olive oil, plus extra for greasing
2.1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1.1 oz dried wild mushrooms
2 dried chillis, roughly chopped (deseeded for less heat)
17.6 fl oz hot vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered (90g/3oz)
2 –3 plum tomatoes, quartered (200g/7oz)
2.6 oz tomato paste
4.6 fl oz double cream
2.1 oz Pecorino Romano, finely grated
2.1 oz Parmesan, finely grated
0.2 oz basil leaves, finely chopped
0.4 oz parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra tsp to serve
8.8 oz dried lasagne sheets (approx 14 sheets)
1 pinch each of salt and black pepper

26.5 oz chestnut mushrooms, halved
17.6 oz oyster mushrooms
0.6 cup olive oil, plus extra for greasing
2.1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1.1 oz dried wild mushrooms
2 dried chillis, roughly chopped (deseeded for less heat)
2.1 cups hot vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered (90g/3oz)
2 –3 plum tomatoes, quartered (200g/7oz)
2.6 oz tomato paste
0.5 cup double cream
2.1 oz Pecorino Romano, finely grated
2.1 oz Parmesan, finely grated
0.2 oz basil leaves, finely chopped
0.4 oz parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra tsp to serve
8.8 oz dried lasagne sheets (approx 14 sheets)
1 pinch each of salt and black pepper

Details

Cuisine: British
Recipe Type: Pasta
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cooking Time: 115 mins
Serves: 6

Step-by-step

Preheat the oven to 230°C fan/500°F/gas mark 8.
Put the chestnut and oyster mushrooms into the large bowl of a food processor in three or four batches and pulse each batch until finely chopped (or finely chop everything by hand). Toss the chopped mushrooms in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt and spread out on a large, 40cm x 35cm (16 x 14inch) parchment-lined, rimmed baking tray.
Bake for 30 minutes near the top of the oven, stirring three times throughout, until the mushrooms are golden-brown; they will have reduced in volume significantly. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 6.
Meanwhile, combine the dried mushrooms, chillies and hot stock in a large bowl and set aside to soak for half an hour. Strain the liquid into another bowl, squeezing as much liquid from the mushrooms as possible to get about 340ml/11.5fl oz: if you have any less, top up with water.
Very roughly chop the rehydrated mushrooms (you want some chunks) and finely chop the chillies. Set the stock and mushrooms aside separately.
Put the onion, garlic and carrot into the food processor and pulse until finely chopped (or finely chop everything by hand). Heat 60ml/2fl oz of oil in a large sauté pan or pot on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion mixture and fry for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden.
Pulse the tomatoes in the food processor until finely chopped (or finely chop by hand), then add to the pan along with the tomato paste, 1½ teaspoons of salt and 1¾ teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the rehydrated mushrooms and chillies and the roasted mushrooms and cook for 9 minutes, resisting the urge to stir: you want the mushrooms to be slightly crisp and browned on the bottom. Stir in the reserved stock and 800ml/27fl oz of water and, once simmering, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you get the consistency of a ragù. Stir in 100ml/3.3fl oz of the cream and simmer for another 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Combine both cheeses and both herbs in a small bowl.
To assemble the lasagne, spread one-fifth of the sauce in the bottom of a round 28cm/11inch baking dish (or a 30cm x 20cm/12 x 8inch rectangular dish), then top with a fifth of the cheese mixture, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, broken to fit where necessary. Repeat these layers three more times in that order, and finish with a final layer of sauce and cheese: that’s five layers of sauce and cheese and four layers of pasta.
Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of cream and 1 tablespoon of oil, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the temperature to 220°C fan/475°F/gas mark 7 and bake for another 12 minutes, turning the dish round halfway. Turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for a final 2 minutes, until the edges are brown and crisp.
Set aside to cool for 5 or so minutes, then drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of cream and oil. Sprinkle over the remaining parsley, finish with a good grind of pepper and serve.

This recipe is from Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage (Ebury Press, £27). Photographs by Jonathan Lovekin.

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