Method-
Lets start with the spinach. I would normally steam it, but in this case I just blanched them in boiling salted water for about 10 seconds or until just wilted.
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Transfer to a cold water bath or just sprinkle cold water to stop it from cooking further and let it cool. Takes about a minute.Now squeeze out the water as much as possible.Chop it coarsely and set aside.
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In a pan, melt 1 tbsp butter and add the mushrooms.Cook them until slightly browned. Set aside
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In the same pan, melt 2 tbsp butter in medium heat until its starts foaming.Add the onion and garlic pasta and cook whisking it until the onions are soft.
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Next, add in the flour and cook - keep whisking it to avoid the butter from browning. We do this in order to toast the flour (to avoid the raw grainy taste later on)
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Gradually add in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil over med-high heat. Keep whisking it. Add the bay leaf, nutmeg, salt and pepper and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Whisk it on and off.
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When you find the mixture is thick and saucy, add in the Parmesan cheese and whisk until mixed. Remove the bay leaf.
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Set aside abt 1/4 cup of the sauce and in the remaining sauce, whisk in the spinach until well combined. You would have around 2 cups of the spinach-bechamel sauce
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While this is happening, in another pan, cook pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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In another bowl, whisk the ricotta cheese along with salt until smooth. Set aside
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Preheat Oven to 425F. Grease your baking dish with some butter. I used a 6 cup (1.5 L) 8X6X2 dish for my lasagna, but you can use whatever you have. Layer the bottom with some bechamel sauce (abt 1/4 cup that you set aside).
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Now place 3 noodles on top of it, side by side. Since I did not have much of a space, I overlapped my noodles.
Note:
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From here on you can layer it as your fancy strikes. Just make sure to have some sauce and cheese leftover for the last layer to cover the noodles.
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Spread about 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture.Sprinkle Parmesan over the spinach mixture.
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Layer that again with 3 more noodles.Layer that with 1/2 cup spinach mixture and 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese.Layer the ricotta cheese mixture over it and spread until it covers the layer,followed by mushrooms.
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I cut the remaining 1 lasagna sheet into half and covered the middle and enclosed the overhanging noodles (that I layered before) on the ends. Now you know why the odd number 7.
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Cover with remaining spinach mixture completely enclosing the pasta and toss in the mozzarella cheese as last layer.
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Cover the top with foil (grease the inner side of the foil with some oil so that it doesn't stick to the cheese) and bake for 10-15 min or until it starts bubbling. Remove the foil and now Broil the lasagna for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is browned in spots. Let it cool for about 10 minutes and then cut them into pieces. Serve.
Tips:
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Parmesan Cheese: I used Vegetarian Parmesan cheese that comes grated in small containers.
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Lasagna Sheets: You can use any kind of pasta you like. I happened to have Brown Rice ( and gluten free) sheets with me that I put to use here. Also I know 7 seems like an odd number. But it depends on the type of Pan you have. I had a small one and for the type of layers I did, I used 7. You would probably need 6 sheets, but just to be safe try 7.
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Mozzarella Cheese: As I have probably harped on my love for fresh mozzarella in this site so many times (did you sigh?!), I had to use it here too. But you can use whatever you like.
Courtesy: http://chefinyou.com/
Ingredients: For the bechamel (White) sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
1/2 tbsp garlic paste (minced garlic)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1-3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
Ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmesan Cheese (see Tips)
For the pasta and layering:
7 brown rice lasagna sheets, see tips
5 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, see tips
4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, crumbled
Pinch of salt
For the spinach and mushroom stuffing:
10 oz (abt 300 grms) fresh Spinach, with trimmed ends
1/2 tbsp salt
4 oz Button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thick