Lasagna is one of my favorite cold-weather comfort foods, typically we eat the traditional meaty, red-sauced variety. But I'm always up for trying a new version. So when Keith showed me this recipe from Sam Sifton of the New York Times, I knew we had to try it. It was more than creamy, it was cheesy and loaded with mushrooms.
Well, pretty loaded. I decided to add even more - this recipe calls for a full two-pounds. But as I said in my Mushroom Barley and Brie Soup post, when have you ever thought, “Man, there are too many mushrooms.”
Along with the creamy sauce and loads of mushrooms and cheese, there is also a full head of radicchio (which you'll roast ahead of time) and some salty prosciutto for balance and flavor depth.
I've listed that this recipe serves 8 to 10, but we cut it into 12 servings (it's even better heated up the next day). It's the kind of rich and hearty dish where even a small slice is entirely satisfying.
Creamy Mushroom Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound lasagna noodles about 16 noodles
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 2 large leeks white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 2 pounds button mushrooms trimmed and sliced
- 1 medium head radicchio halved, cored and thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 ounces Gruyère cheese shredded
- 4 ounces Fontina cheese shredded
- 10 ounces whole-milk mozzarella shredded
- 4 ounces prosciutto coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside, reserving some of the cooking water for loosening up the noodles if necessary.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks; cook and stir until tender. Add mushrooms to leeks; cook and stir until mushrooms are tender but still plump, about 12 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl.
- Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange radicchio on it in a single layer. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Add to mushrooms in bowl and stir to combine. (Leave oven on)
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant. Sprinkle flour over mixture; cook and stir 10 minutes or until lightly brown, take care not to burn the garlic. Whisking constantly, slowly add milk. Continue to whisk until sauce is thick and creamy. Add ½ each of the Gruyère and Fontina; stir to combine. Season to taste with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour all but on cup of sauce over mushroom / radicchio mixture and stir to combine.
To assemble lasagna:
- Spread reserved cup of sauce across the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles in a single layer over sauce. Spread ½ of mushroom mixture over noodles in an even layer and sprinkle with ½ of the remaining Fontina and Gruyère cheeses. Add a second layer of lasagna noodles and top with mozzarella and prosciutto. Add a third layer of pasta and spread with remaining mushroom mixture. Top with final layer of pasta. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese, including Parmesan. Cover with a greased sheet of aluminum foil bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook 15 minutes more or until golden and bubbling.
- Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Did I miss when prosciutto was cooked and added? I can assume. Looking forward to cooking this. I'm going to do the OG NYT recipe for one and this recipe for lasagna #2. Face off!! I'm actually thinking some crunchy prosciutto/pancetta crumbles on top would be a great garnish!
Hi Jerry - I agree about the crunchy prosciutto/pancetta for garnish! Check out the lasagna assembly section of the recipe - the prosciutto and mozzarella are added on top of the second layer of noodles.
Lasagna has to be one of my favorite comfort foods in the winter! The mushroom/radicchio/prosciutto combo sounds delish!
Any kind of lasagna floats my boat, but especially creamy, saucy ones like this (and a whole load of cheese dumped in there doesn't hurt, either!)
This is true. Nothing like a ton of cheese to make almost any dish mouthwatering! 🙂
Oh lasagna...the stuff dreams are made of! This is perfection, Marissa! I would like one giant square, please!! And you can never have enough mushrooms!! <3
I want to give you one giant square! 🙂 Thanks, Beeta. xo
Ooh I love radicchio so I'll definitely want to give this a go. Thanks Marissa! 😀
If you do, I'd love to hear what you think. 🙂 xo
Lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods, but I'll be honest, I get tired of the classic meat and red sauce lasagna. So I am LOVING this one, Marissa!! Cheesy and creamy with loads of mushrooms, radicchio and prosciutto? WOWZA. There are only two of us, but I'm thinking there might not be leftovers. 😉 Cheers, friend!
Thank you, Cheyanne! I'll always come back to my old-faithful lasagna recipe (red sauce and meat), but love having an option for something different once in a while.
Good for Keith on finding this one and your sharing it. I could easily dig into this and I love that it's not the typical tomato sauced variety of lasagne. So will Dave. Plus, there's pancetta! Delicious Marissa.
#meant prosciutto, but you get me.... porkaliciousness!
haha...pancetta would be an awesome substitution for next time, so I'm glad for the typo. 😉
Hi Marissa! I pick up mushrooms just about every time I go to the store. This lasagna sounds like great comfort food! I've taken to using no boil lasagna noodles, so much easier! I like your use of the different cheeses. I've had lasagna that is overpowered by way too much Mozarella that it's just plain heavy (and pretty tasteless). When I make lasagna I always add spinach, but then I add spinach to a lot of things!
Hi Dorothy! I do too - I love mushrooms raw in salads, cooked in soups, pasta - almost everything! We're simpatico on the spinach. When I make classic lasagna, it always has a spinach and ricotta layer with enough egg to give it kind of a souffle texture. Now that you mention it, I think a layer of spinach in this would be a a delicious addition.
Oh boy, your description of "cheesy and loaded with mushrooms" has me completely hooked! I love that there's also a full head of roasted radicchio in there; genius way to get in more veggies and up the flavor ante. Lovely fall meal!
Thank you, Faith. So true - it's always nice to be able to sneak in extra veggies here and there. And so often it improves the flavor of the dish as a bonus!