Mushroom Lasagna by Heather

This is a very versatile dish.  You can really add whatever mushrooms and cheese you like.  I decided to use portobello and chantrelle mushrooms, but any mushrooms with an earthy flavor would work.  I found a great truffle gouda at Whole Foods, which I sprinkled on top of the lasagna to finish the dish.  Instead of a red sauce, you could certainly add a cream sauce if you wanted the mushroom flavor to really stand out.

Ingredients:
1 box no boil lasagna sheets
2 shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup white or red wine (I used red)
1 lb assorted mushrooms, chopped
1-2 tbs. minced rosemary
1-2 tbs. minced sage
1 28 oz. can crushed tomato
8 oz. container goat ricotta
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed, and squeezed of excess water
pinch of nutmeg
8 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
4 oz. shredded truffle gouda




Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan.  Once oil is hot, add the shallots, and garlic, cooking for 3 minutes.  Add in the herbs and the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Once the mushrooms are browned, add the the wine, and cook until liquid is slightly reduced; about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, nutmeg, spinach in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a large baking dish, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce to coat the bottom of the dish.  Add the first layer of lasagna sheets (I find that it helps to break a lasagna sheet and use the pieces to cover any bare corners that the other sheets can't cover).  On top of the lasagna sheets, add a layer of the ricotta mixture, a sprinkling of parmesan, a layer of tomato sauce, and a layer of mushrooms.  Top with another layer of lasagna noodles, and repeat the process as many times as needed.  The key is to finish the layers with a final layer of lasagna noodles and then just enough sauce to cover the top layer of noodles.  Cover the baking dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

This is what the first layer should look like.  I haven't gotten around to buying a new baking dish, so I made my lasagna in a dutch oven.

Remove foil, then sprinkle with remaining parmesan and the truffle gouda.  Bake for another 10 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is nice and bubbly.