Recipe - Wild Mushroom Lasagna

As you know, my husband is a vegetarian so meal planning for guests can be tricky.  But luckily there are so many delicious meatless recipes out there to choose from.  Since we were having some neighbors over for dinner, and I really wanted to showcase wild mushrooms in our meal, but I couldn't find the perfect recipe for what I wanted to do so I decided to combine a couple of recipes to create and tasty yet easy lasagna recipe.  Here is what I came up with (PS - sorry I don't have any pictures but when the lasagna came out of the oven, I was busy talking with my guests and well....we ate it and I missed my photo opp - sorry! But trust me, this is delish!!) -

Wild Mushroom Lasagna

For the mushroom mixture:

.    2 tablespoons unsalted butter

.    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

.    3 medium shallots, minced (I used 1/2 large sweet white onion, finely chopped)

.    4 pounds wild mushrooms, such as baby bella, chanterelle, stemmed shiitake and oyster, caps thickly sliced

.    Salt & Freshly ground white pepper

.    1/2 cup dry white wine (I used 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 1/4 cup water)

.    2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (I used Light heavy cream)

.    1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

For the Ricotta mixture:

.    15 oz package part skim Ricotta cheese

.    2 eggs, beaten

.    2 oz Parmesan cheese

.    16 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese

.    2 jars store bought marinara sauce

.    1 package no-boil lasagna sheets

Directions:

1.         Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large, deep skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the oil. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 18 minutes. Add the wine and boil until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

2.         In a medium sized bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and about 1   cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese.

3.         Pour half of a jar of marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Then arrange four of the lasagna sheets in the prepared baking dish. Top with one-third of the ricotta mixture, then one-third of the mushroom mixture, one cup of the mozzarella cheese, finishing with the remaining half of the jar of marinara sauce. Repeat this layering twice more, ending with a layer of pasta. Pour the remaining half of the jarred marinara sauce and finish with a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

4.         Cover the lasagna very loosely with aluminum foil and bake on a sheet pan (to catch any over-spillage) for 55-60 minutes.  Then remove foil and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with a fresh garden salad and garlic bread and Enjoy!!!