Moreish Spicy Mushroom Lasagne

Can you have too many lasagne recipes? We think not, and this one from Yotam Ottolenghi’s amazing cookbook Flavour is definitely a keeper. Loaded with earthy mushrooms and oh-so bitey cheese, this is the perfect Sunday night comfort food crowd-pleaser.

Moreish Spicy Mushroom Lasagne

For 6 hearty serves, you need:

750g mixed mushrooms, halved
500g oyster mushrooms
Half cup olive oil, plus extra for greasing
80g shiitake mushrooms
2 dried red chillies, roughly chopped (deseeded for less heat)
2 cups hot vegetable stock
1 brown onion, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and quartered 
2–3 tomatoes, quartered
340ml vegetable stock 
Half cup pure cream
120g Cheddarbelle, finely grated
Small handful basilleaves, finely chopped
Few parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra tsp to serve
250g dried lasagne sheets (that’s about 14 sheets)

To make:

• Preheat the oven to 230°C fan-forced
• Put the mixed and oyster mushrooms into the large bowl of a food processor in three or four batches
• Pulse each batch until finely chopped (or finely chop everything by hand).
• Toss the chopped mushrooms in a large bowl with 45ml of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt and spread out on a large, 40 cm x 35 cm parchment-lined, rimmed baking tray
• Bake for 30 minutes near the top of the oven, stirring three times throughout until the mushrooms are golden-brown; they will have reduced in volume significantly. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C fan-forced
• Meanwhile, combine chillies and hot stock in a large bowl and set aside to soak for half an hour
• Very roughly chop the rehydrated mushrooms (you want some chunks) and finely chop the chillies. Set the stock and mushrooms aside separately
• Put the onion, garlic and carrot into the food processor and pulse until finely chopped (or finely chop everything by hand)
• Heat 2-3 tbspns of oil in a large saute pan or pot on medium-high heat
• Once hot, add the onion mixture and fry for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden
• Pulse the tomatoes in the food processor until finely chopped (or finely chop by hand), then add to the pan with 1½ teaspoons of salt and 1¾ teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper
• Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Add the mushrooms, chillies and the roasted mushrooms and cook for 9 minutes, resisting the urge to stir: you want the mushrooms to be slightly crisp and browned on the bottom
• Stir in 340ml of vegetable stock and 800 ml of water and, once simmering, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until you get the consistency of a ragu
• Stir in 100 ml of the cream and simmer for another 2 minutes, then remove from the heat
• Combine the cheese, basil and parsley in a small bowl
• To assemble the lasagne, spread one-fifth of the sauce in the bottom of a round 28 cm baking dish (or a 30 cm x 20 cm rectangular dish), then top with a fifth of the cheese mixture, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, broken to fit where necessary
• Repeat these layers three more times in that order, and finish with a final layer of sauce and cheese: that’s five layers of sauce and cheese and four layers of pasta
• Drizzle over 3 tsp (15 ml) of cream and 3 tsp (15 ml) of oil, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes
• Remove the foil, increase the temperature to 220°C fan-forced and bake for another 12 minutes, turning the dish round halfway
• Turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for a final 2 minutes, until the edges are brown and crisp
• Set aside to cool for 5 or so minutes, then drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of cream and oil
• Sprinkle over the remaining parsley, finish with a good grind of pepper and serve - YUM!

Extracted from Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage