Mushroom-Ricotta Lasagne with Port Sauce Recipe

Excerpted from ‘The Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook: Sweet and Savory Comfort Food From America's Favorite Rural Bakery’

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Published August 19, 2022

Mushroom-Ricotta Lasagne with Port Sauce displayed on plates in a casserole dish

Angie Mosier

Makes One 13 × 9-inch lasagne

While in my early twenties, I was in San Francisco alone for an afternoon Giants baseball game at Candlestick Park. I had dinner at Greens, perched on a pier overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Redwood burl tables filled the room, and chef Deborah Madison headed the kitchen. I ordered the vegetarian lasagne, and I haven’t forgotten the impression it made on me as Greens called me back for many more meals over the years.

Two decades later, I was at a dinner in Florida celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the planned community of Seaside and seated next to a woman who introduced herself as … Deborah Madison. I’m sure my jaw dropped and I was a fawning idiot the rest of the night. Deborah, who had left Greens to focus on cookbook writing, told me about a newer lasagne recipe that Greens executive chef Annie Somerville had created. I tracked down Annie, who had just retired after her thirty-eighth year at Greens, and she shared the recipe with me.

It is involved and time-consuming to undertake — you’ll be making a mushroom sauce, a ricotta custard, an herb béchamel sauce, maybe even a terrific mushroom stock, and then assembling it all — so I spread the prep over a couple of days and stick it all in the fridge, ready to put together.

Ingredients

For the mushroom sauce:

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 1 cup)
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup good-quality port, such as Ficklin Vineyards
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups Rich Mushroom Stock (page 211, Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook) or a good-quality store-bought mushroom broth

For the mushrooms and leeks:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced, and rinsed well
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground thyme
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound white button mushrooms, stemmed, rinsed well, and cut into thick slices (about 5 cups)
¼ cup good-quality port, such as Ficklin Vineyards
¼ cup chopped fresh mixed herbs, such as thyme, marjoram, and parsley

For the ricotta custard:

About 2 cups Black Pepper Ricotta (page 209, Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook), or 1 pound store-bought whole-milk ricotta
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about ¹/₃ cup)
3 pinches of freshly grated or ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the herb béchamel sauce:

2½ cups whole milk
Several fresh herb sprigs tied together, such as parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the lasagne:

3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1½ cups)
1 pound fresh pasta sheets, or as needed

Directions

1. Make the mushroom sauce: Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with warm water. Soak for 10 minutes, then strain them through a fine-mesh strainer into a separate bowl, reserving the soaking liquid and discarding any grit. Finely chop the mushrooms, discarding any pieces that are hard or tough.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Stir in the onion, salt, and a few pinches of pepper. Cook until the onion begins to release its moisture, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and the chopped mushrooms. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the port and the strained mushroom soaking liquid. Continue to cook at a simmer over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until the pan is nearly dry. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

3. In the same saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour to form a roux. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk ½ cup of the mushroom stock into the roux to make a paste, then whisk in another ½ cup of the stock to thin it. Gradually add the remaining 2 cups stock and, once it has been incorporated, add the onion-porcini mixture, making sure to include any accumulated juices in the bowl. Increase the heat to medium and cook the sauce for 8 to 10 minutes, until it has thickened nicely. Taste and season with additional salt if needed. If not using immediately, cool and refrigerate the sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

4. Make the mushrooms and leeks: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Stir in the leeks, ¼ teaspoon salt, a few pinches of pepper, and the thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Add half of the garlic, cover, and steam until the leeks are tender and slightly golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

5. Wipe out the skillet and place it over high heat with 1½ teaspoons of the oil. When the oil is shimmering, add half of the mushrooms and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and a few pinches of pepper. Cook the mushrooms, without stirring — at this point they’ll begin to stick to the pan, but you want to let them get a good sear on the bottom — until they’re golden, then stir once and continue to sear for 1 to 2 minutes. Add half of the remaining garlic, stir again, then add half of the port to deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with leeks. Add the remaining 1½ teaspoons oil to the pan and cook the remaining mushrooms as directed. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to the bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the chopped herbs, reserving the remaining 1 tablespoon for serving. If not using immediately, cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

6. Make the ricotta custard: Stir together the ricotta and eggs in a bowl until well blended. Add the Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, mixing thoroughly. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

7. Make the herb béchamel sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the milk with the herb bundle over medium-low heat, until warmed through and fragrant, about 5 minutes. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking continuously, to form a roux. Discard the herb bundle. Add ½ cup of the warm milk to the roux, whisking constantly to form a paste, then gradually pour in the remaining 2 cups warm milk, whisking until smooth. Add the salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, whisking frequently, until the béchamel has slightly thickened and is smooth.

8. Assemble the lasagne: Reserve ¹/₃ cup of the Parmesan (to sprinkle on top) and toss the remaining Parmesan and the Gruyère together in a medium bowl. Spread a third of the mushroom sauce on the bottom of a deep 13 × 9-inch baking dish and cover it with one layer of the pasta sheets. Pour half of the remaining sauce over the pasta, followed by all of the mushroom-leek mixture. Add another layer of pasta and spread the ricotta custard evenly over it. Add another layer of pasta and scatter half the Parmesan-Gruyère mixture on top. Add the remaining sauce, the remaining Parmesan-Gruyère mixture, and the final layer of pasta, in that order. (You may have some pasta sheets left over.) Pour all the béchamel sauce over the lasagne, spreading it evenly to cover the edges. (At this point you could cover and refrigerate the lasagne and bake it the next day; bring to room temperature while the oven preheats.)

9. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the underside of a sheet of aluminum foil with vegetable oil spray and use it to loosely cover the lasagne. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and scatter the reserved ¹/₃ cup Parmesan on top. Return the lasagne to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the béchamel sauce has set, the Parmesan has melted, and the lasagne is golden brown on top, 20 to 30 minutes. The pasta should be tender. Scatter the reserved tablespoon of chopped herbs on top as soon as the lasagne comes out of the oven. Let it rest for 10 minutes or so before serving (any sooner and it will be too loose to cut).

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