White Lasagna

I forgot to post this recipe that I made down at my folks house last month. This was my first try at a white lasagna and I think it came out nice considering there was nary a speck leftover.

Next time I will add a couple more layers. I used those no-boil, non-curly lasagna noodles which made my usual 3 layers of pasta seem short. It was a little labor intensive since I made my own bechamel and seared the mushrooms before assembly, not to mention squeezing liquid out of the spinach, always a messy endeavor for me.

White Lasagna

Bechamel sauce

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk

1/8 tsp nutmeg

salt/pepper to taste

Ricotta Mixture

1 container ricotta

1 egg

1/4 c. grated parmesan

1/2 tsp. pepper

Rest of layers

1/3 cup pesto

1 package frozen spinach
1 lb cremini mushrooms
3 oz feta

For the sauce: Melt butter and garlic together, just for a few minutes until the garlic softens up. Add the flour and cook another couple minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, making sure to break up the lumpy flour along the way. Add seasonings.

For the cheese: Mix ricotta, egg and parmesan together in a bowl.

Other: Sear mushrooms on high heat, getting a nice browned edge. Set aside. Thaw and squeeze spinach. Set aside.

Assembly: Put down a few tablespoons of white sauce on the bottom of pan, follow with a layer of noodle, half the ricotta mixture and the spinach. More sauce, noodle, ricotta and then spread the pesto on top of that. Add mushrooms. More sauce, noodle, sauce again, then the feta. Cook at 350 for 45 mins.

Yum! I only used the feta because I didn't have any mozarella, and was pleased by the results...it gave it a more mediterranean tangy flair which was suprisingly awesome.