During the snow storm of the century in Central Italy, I can't think of a better way to warm up than devouring a plate of decadent pasta & a good bottle of red after a day of shoveling the drive. Perfect for a cold winter's night, lasagna bianco, 'white lasagna' is made with porcini mushrooms, sausages & rich creamy bechamel, a local classic in northern Le Marche. A refined take on the usual red sauce classic, that will have your mouthwatering for more after the first bite.
Extra Delicious Tip: Make sure to have your pasta sheets large enough to hang over the edges creating golden crispy edges!
Lasagna Bianco
White Lasagna
serves 6
1 recipe of egg pasta or 4 sheets of fresh pasta
1 recipe of béchamel sauce
8 oz. sausage meat (250 gr)
2 cloves garlic, whole, peeled
2 big handfuls (about 2 cups) chopped mushrooms (we use porcini, chanertelle and other local wild mushrooms)
small handful of chopped parsley
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
In a skillet on low heat slowly brown whole peeled cloves of garlic for 2-3 minutes turning frequently. Then raise the heat to medium, add the sausage meat to the pan and all to cook slowly until there is no pink in the meat about 8-10 minutes. With the back of a fork smash the meat into little pieces. Then add in your mushrooms and season with salt & pepper.
Once the mushrooms cook out their liquid, lower the temperature and cook for 10-15 minutes until nice & soft. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan if all the liquid cooks out so the pan doesn’t go dry.
Shut off the heat and taste, checking your salt & pepper, stir in parsley.
Assembly of the lasagna
Have ready parmesan, sausage & mushroom mixture, béchamel, pasta sheets & baking dish.
Start by placing a small amount of bechamel in the bottom of your baking dish - spreading it out.
One layer of pasta into boiling water until it is half-cooked. (Cooking time will vary based on type of pasta - fresh vs. dried)
Put the pasta down in the baking pan. Add a quarter of the mushroom sausage mixture, dotting the top with bechamel and a healthy sprinkle of cheese. Repeat this process until you have 4 layers.
Bake at 400 degree oven until the edges are golden brown & bubbly.
Freezes well. If you take out of the freezer, allow to defrost & come up to room temperature, then hit the corners of the lasagna with a few drops of milk to add moisture.
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