Roasted Portobello & Prosciutto Lasagna

Roasted Portobello & Prosciutto Lasagna

In the mood for something meaty, but without all the meat? The Portobello mushrooms in this dish function as the “meaty” component & are a nice change from your typical lasagna. Plus, you'll be getting a good source of Vitamin D for the day, as one medium-sized mushroom = 100% Vitamin D. We all could use a little extra Vitamin D in our diets, don't you think?? Give it a try!

I found this recipe lying in between a big stack of cooking magazines. It was saved as a recipe to try, but I didn’t know it would take me six years to actually make it. Yes folks, I have six-year-old magazines piling up in my garage. And the sad part is that I actually found one dated back to 1989!! You may be thinking to yourself, “hoarder, much?” but I am not that crazy. I only save the good-looking recipes in magazines & recycle the rest. And I’m glad I do, because otherwise I would have never stumbled upon this yummy lasagna recipe.

The lasagna’s rich & cheesy flavor also reminded me of mac ‘n cheese. I would love to try this recipe again…but as a mac ‘n cheese. To do so, substitute Cellentani noodles (my fav!) and dice the mushrooms into smaller pieces. You can also omit the mushrooms altogether and add a few cans of drained, diced tomatoes in its place. Doesn’t that sound good? :) XOXO....little j Y

Roasted Portobello & Prosciutto Lasagna

Adapted from: Bon Appétit Magazine, Oct. 2004

Makes 10-12 servings

3 tbsp olive oil + 2 tsp

2 lbs Portobello mushrooms, stems removed

1 cup prosciutto, chopped

2/3 cup shallots, chopped (you’ll need 2-3 shallots)

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (or dry rosemary)

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or dry thyme)

4 cups milk (I used 1% milk)

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

1 bay leaf

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2/3 cup flour

½ Swiss cheese, shredded

½ cup Aged Asiago cheese, shredded

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese + ½ cup to top lasagna before baking

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

salt & white pepper, to taste

1 lb lasagna noodles

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces

*Note: The original recipe used Gruyère (also a great cheese!) in place of the Swiss & Aged Asiago I used. Also, this dish is kind of time consuming. Make the mushrooms & prosciutto-shallot fillings ahead of time (that’s what I did). If you have enough time, make the entire lasagna & refrigerate it overnight. When dinner time rolls around, stick it in the oven to bake!

For the Mushroom Filling:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Arrange mushrooms on a greased (use 1 tbsp olive oil) baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil & use a basting brush to coat both sides of the mushroom. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast in oven for 45 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool, then slice mushrooms about 1/3-inch-thick. Set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.

I used a variety of sizes!

For the Prosciutto-Shallot Filling:

In a medium-sized pan, heat 2 tsp olive oil. Add prosciutto and sauté until brown. Add shallots, rosemary and thyme. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until shallots become tender. Set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.

For the Béchamel Sauce:

In a large saucepan, bring the milk, chicken broth & bay leaf to a simmer over medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, remove saucepan from the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes. Then remove & dispose the bay leaf.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over low-medium heat. Whisk in the flour and keep stirring for 2 minutes. Then add the hot milk mixture and bring to a boil. Whisk frequently. Don’t leave the stove because it can boil over if you aren’t watching! Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low & let simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Again, whisk frequently. Remove from heat & stir in the cheeses and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

For Lasagna Noodles:

In this recipe, I used flat noodles that don’t require boiling. However, I prefer the regular lasagna noodles. If using the regular noodles, boil them as directed on the box. Drain, then rinse with cold water & pat dry. Use 1/3 of the total noodles for each layer, as this lasagna will have three layers.

Another suggestion is to buy the regular lasagna noodles & not boil them either. My “Uncle Eddie” makes his lasagna without boiling the noodles first and it always comes out great, so you might want to give it a try if you don’t want to hassle with all that boiling.

Putting it All Together:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 13x9x2 pan (or that neat-o Baker’s Edge Lasagna Pan I mentioned in my Top 10 Gift List). Spread 1 cup Béchamel sauce over bottom of pan. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce. Spread 1 2/3 cups Béchamel sauce over noodles. Scatter ½ of the mushrooms & ½ of the prosciutto-shallot filling over the sauce.

Use ½ of the remaining lasagna noodles for the next layer. Then spread another 1 2/3 cups Béchamel sauce over noodles. Scatter remaining mushrooms and prosciutto-shallot filling over sauce. Top with remainder of lasagna noodles. Spread the rest of the Béchamel sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese & top with butter pieces.

Bake for 45 minutes (or 1 hour if refrigerated). Let stand for 20-25 minutes before serving.