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Lasagna With Spinach and Wild Mushrooms
![Lasagna With Spinach and Wild Mushrooms](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/12/23/science/23recipeforhealth/23recipeforhealth-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1pound spinach, stemmed and washed in 2 changes water if using bunch spinach, rinsed if using bagged baby spinach
- Salt
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for oiling baking dish
- ½pound wild mushrooms, such as oyster mushrooms or maitakes, torn or cut into smaller slices if large or in clumps
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 8ounces ricotta cheese
- 1egg
- 1tablespoon water
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2⅓ to 2½cups marinara sauce (more to taste)
- 7 to 8ounces no-boil lasagna (depends on the size and shape of your dish)
- 4ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the wet spinach. Wilt in the water left on the leaves, stirring until all of the spinach has collapsed in the pan. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water, taking up spinach by the handful. Chop fine and season with a little bit of salt. Set aside. (Alternatively, blanch for 20 seconds in salted boiling water).
- Step 2
Clean and dry skillet and heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Add mushrooms. Let sear without moving for about 30 seconds, then toss and stir in the pan until they begin to sweat, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to medium and add minced garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until mushrooms are soft, 3 to 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat.
- Step 3
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish. Blend ricotta cheese with egg, water, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in spinach.
- Step 4
Spread a small spoonful of marinara sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with a thin layer of ricotta. Spoon on a few dollops then spread it with an offset or rubber spatula. Top ricotta with half the mushrooms, then top with a layer of marinara sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat layers, then add a final layer of lasagna noodles topped with marinara sauce and Parmesan. Drizzle on remaining olive oil.
- Step 5
Cover baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until noodles are tender and mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- Advance preparation: You can assemble this up to a day ahead and refrigerate, or freeze for a month before or after baking. The lasagna can be baked several hours ahead and reheated in a medium oven.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Made this last night for a vegetarian/carnivore mix diners. I would agree with other comments that a bit more garlic and mushrooms would be a plus. Rather than use more of the oyster and maitakes, I would add in about 1/4 pound of baby bellas (less pricey and a good texture addition). I'd also add some dried oregano for a bit more herbal hit. Served this with an antipasto starter that included mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, italian olives and salami, so the meat eaters were satisfied.
I took the advice of others and added more spinach, garlic and ricotta. However, as a result, it needed 60 minutes to cook thoroughly rather than the recommended 45.
This is a terrific lasagna. Each time I make it everyone loves it and wants the recipe. It not heavy, which you may associate with traditional lasagna, its light but savory which is why I like it so. Another great one from the amazing Martha Rose!
Easy recipe for a first time lasagna chef. I add extra mushrooms as others suggested. Shiitake, portabella--regular and baby, along with a handful of dried porcini (first reconstituted in hot water). Also added extra herbs--including fresh thyme, increasing cheese (parmesan and ricotta) also helps. I often swirl some pesto sauce on top of one or more layers--not a lot, but enough to add another dimension of flavor.
The best vegetarian lasagna I've ever made. The wild mushrooms - I used King Oyster - added terrific flavor. I doubled the ricotta and added mozzarella because I was making it for a crowd, including people who prefer a more traditional lasagna. They loved it.
The container it will fill as written is either a 7 x 11 or 8" sq. pyrex: vol. 2 qts. I made the marinara with 28 oz of tomatoes; hold the sugar; add a touch of red pepper flakes. Added 2 eggs. All other ingredients as listed, except used baby bellas. Used the Barilla no boil lasagna: 3 sheets per layer.. The recipe says put 1/2 the mushrooms in the 1st layer & rest in the 2nd layer. It should also tell you to put 1/2 of the spin/ricotta mixture in each layer. Lite on its feet!
This recipe produces a lovely light, but satisfying, spinach & mushroom lasagna. I made Martha Rose Shulman's Simple Marinara Sauce which produced just enough pasta sauce for the recipe. Both my partner and I found the lightness of the dish which is so often overwhelmed by cheese delightful. It will become a go-to dish.
Excellent dish. I added more king oyster mushrooms and some mozzarella. My family loved it.
I made this with Tuscan kale. It was tasty, but too watery. Probably I should have cooked and drained the kale. I did sauté it, but that probably wasn’t enough.
Also added crushed red pepper and oregano.
Tasty, but like others have written, it needed more mushrooms etc. to fill the pan. Was rather a lot of effort for the result.
We all absolutely loved this lasagna tonight - on Christmas Eve. I used the out of this world marinara sauce from a NYT Cioppino recipe (from Roseann Grimm and Anchor Oyster Bar, Adapted by Tejal Rao) since I was already preparing lots of it. The star anise in this sauce gives it an authentic, rich flavor. For the lasagna, I added more ricotta and parmesan. I would add more wild mushrooms next time. Other than this, it was the tastiest lasagna I've ever had!
No mozzarella? I definitely added that - and more mushrooms - and more ricotta. Also used frozen chopped spinach which is perfect for this. It's cooking right now. Will update after. ;-)
I was disappointed, although as a chef, I should have known better. Not enough sauce, not enough garlic, and no need for wild mushrooms. I'm sorry I used them, when regular mushrooms would have been even better, because more tender.
Fabulous! Made for Jane and Maggie Sep 25, 2020 Used Swiss chard with the spinach
I cooked this for parents and we all loved it. My Dad even said it was splendid. I was a little concerned that I didn't have enough sauce and filling. Next time I might make a bit more. But it turned it out really well. I used Maitakes. The spinach, mushrooms, and creamy filling are really nicely balanced. The marinara sauce adds a pleasant tang. Great recipe!
Use at least 1.5x the amount of mushrooms as indicated as they saute down dramatically in volume (may want to use 2x if you want this lasagne chock full of mushrooms), be generous with the garlic. I substituted frozen chopped spinach and, because I did not press thawed spinach dry, I did not add water as indicated. Worked out perfectly! Easy, tasty.
Doubled the garlic and added some mozzarella on top; I used oyster and shiitake mushrooms - next time would add another 8 oz of crimini. I thought the flavor was absolutely fine with decent quality jarred sauce, making this an easy weeknight meal.
I used 1/2 jar of sundried tomatoes in olive oil as a part of the bottom layer and it tasted awesome
In addition to sun dried tomato we doubled almost everything
I sautéed 1/2 lb. of kale, did not rinse in cold water, but chopped it and threw it in a small processor with the ricotta, egg, nutmeg, and water. I used a little over 2 cp of roasted tomatoes, 1 lb trumpet mushrooms, and homemade lasagna noodles. Next time I’ll use more mushrooms, still it was delicious.
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