Mushroom Lasagna

We are getting crazy cooking/eating weather here in DC. It was 80 degrees this weekend and tonight it is 60s and rainy. As such, I feel justified making something that is warm and comforting. Please keep in mind that I am planning a trip to the Outer Banks this weekend and there is nothing particularly warm and comforting about eating a lasagna and wearing a bathing suit in 3 days. This is not the stuff that great diets are made of. Keeping this in mind, I tried to make it very flavorful so that I could substitute low fat dairy items without losing out on taste. This makes a medium sized pan of lasagna. If you want to double the recipe, it will fill up a larger pan.

Mushroom Lasagna
1/2 package whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
2 cups skim milk
1 cup dry white wine
15 oz. fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 egg
4 cups mushrooms
4 cup bitter greens (I used mustard greens, but anything like kale, collards, or even spinach would work)
3 cloves garlic
Thyme
1 package shredded Swiss cheese

There are four components to the lasagna: noodles, white sauce, mushrooms, and ricotta. You take the four components and layer them. I’ve given instructions for making each part separately below. I work on each of the components concurrently, but I think it makes more sense to lay out instructions by component. This is a labor intensive process, but more like a whirlwind than anything because making all of this takes about 45-60 minutes. You are jumping around between pots and pans the whole time, but once it is all over, you are too busy shoveling each delicious bite into your mouth to care.

Noodles
1. Cook half a box of noodles according to box instructions, drain, and lay on clean kitchen towels to dry.

Ricotta
1. Mix ricotta, yogurt, and egg together in a small bowl.2. Add ½ tsp salt, a dash of pepper, ½ tsp each of garlic powder and thyme.

White Sauce
1. Make a simple roux by melting butter in a saucepan on medium heat.
2. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in skim milk and then white wine. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and thyme and a pinch of pepper.

4. Return to heat and cook for 10 minutes while it thickens. Give it a whisk every few minutes to keep from scorching.
5. Remove from heat and set aside for assembling the lasagna.

Mushrooms
1. Clean mushrooms by rubbing with a damp paper towel and removing the stems.2. Slice the mushrooms and sauté in 2 Tablespoons of oil for 8-10 minutes.
3. Roughly chop garlic. Add garlic and 1 tsp thyme to the mushrooms and sauté for another minute.
4. Chop greens and add to pan and wilt for 3-4 minutes before removing from the heat and setting aside for assembly. Assemble the Lasagna
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spoon a light layer of white sauce in the bottom f the dish so that the noodles don’t stick.
3. Lay the first layer of noodles in the pan.
4. Spoon some ricotta mixture and spread over the noodles.
5. Sprinkle 1/3 mushroom mixture over ricotta.
6. Spoon some white sauce over.
7. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.
8. Repeat 3 times.
9. Top with a final layer of noodles and then white sauce.
10. Spoon half dollar size dots of the remaining ricotta on top and sprinkle generously with cheese.11. Bake for 45-60 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.
Phew…making this was a great workout. You should probably have some seconds to keep your strength up. I did!