The Most Amazing Super Cheesy Lasagna | Christine Cushing

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: mascarpone

Cottage cheese offers lower fat content while mascarpone provides a similar creamy texture.

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: provolone

Part-skim mozzarella reduces calories; provolone is often less expensive.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grana padano

Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free option; grana padano is a more affordable cheese with similar flavor.

Boil water in a large pot.

Add a handful of salt to the boiling water.

Add fresh lasagna noodles one by one, cooking for about 3 minutes until slightly tender.

Transfer cooked noodles to cold water to stop the cooking process.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and/or butter over moderate heat; add shallots or onions and a little salt and pepper, cooking until softened.

Slice cremini and shiitake mushrooms, removing stems from shiitake.

Add mushrooms to the skillet, cooking for 8-10 minutes until they sweat down, adding more olive oil if needed.

Add chopped dried mushrooms to the skillet for added flavor.

Return the sautéed shallots and garlic to the skillet with the mushrooms, cooking for a few more minutes.

Add fresh thyme, lemon zest, and juice of half a lemon to the mushroom mixture, then remove from heat.

Make a bechamel sauce by melting butter in a saucepan, adding equal parts flour off the heat, then gradually whisking in milk until bubbly and smooth.

Season the bechamel with salt, black pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Stir in grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese to the bechamel, turning it into a mornay sauce.

Squeeze excess moisture from spinach and prepare to assemble the lasagna.

Add a little olive oil to the bottom of a baking dish.

Layer fresh lasagna noodles at the bottom of the dish.

Spread a layer of the bechamel sauce over the noodles, followed by the mushroom mixture.

Add a layer of ricotta cheese, then a layer of mozzarella di buffalo cheese.

Repeat layering with noodles, bechamel, mushrooms, ricotta, and mozzarella until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of bechamel and mozzarella on top.

Sprinkle additional parmigiano-reggiano cheese on top before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (convection) for about 40 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Let the lasagna rest for about 30 minutes before serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens