meatless monday: mushroom & spinach lasagna

lately i just can’t get enough of mushrooms. i’m not sure if it’s this new eating “healthy” kick i am on or it’s just a fad. but man, i just can’t get enough of them.

i’ve been adding them to everything, salad, pasta, chicken, sauce…the list goes on. i just can’t stop myself.

should i mention spinach? it’s replaced my lettuce. it too finds itself in all my meals. the boy and girl have even taken a liking to it.

one of my favorite things to do with spinach and mushrooms is add them to lasagna. you just cant beat it. i usually make lasagna with huge amounts of sauce and cheese so when i came across this recipe i knew i had something. bechamel with out butter? could it be? was it possible? would it taste good? i talk to myself a lot (as you can see).

just a note, i have not given up butter, i am just trying not to put it in every single meal i make. can’t…give…up…the…buttteeerrrr.

this lasagna was everything i hoped for and more. it was rich, but light…it was filling, but not sick to your stomach filling because you just inhaled to much butter and cream. the best part, i used 1% milk (and no butter, i just wanted to add that in there again).

i loved the original recipe so much, i just didn’t have the time or the ingredients to make it work. i found the pound of mushrooms and the 2 cups of spinach really went a long way. the wine added a fullness and a meatiness to the mushrooms that you don’t usually find in a vegetarian lasagna.

i was able to get about 2 really thick layers. it was the perfect amount of food for our smallish family plus some more for lunch the next day.

happy meatless monday!

mushroom & spinach lasagna adapted from the NYT article, “recipes for health, mushroom lasagna” by martha rose shulman

to prep:

• mince onion and garlic, set aside 2 tbl of onion and 1 garlic clove for the bechamel.
• clean and chop spinach and mushrooms
• pre-heat oven to 350.
• with olive oil, or cooking spray (that is what i used) cover the bottom and sides of a baking dish (don’t miss this step).

1. in a skillet heat about 1 tbl of olive oil, saute onion for 3 to 5 minutes. add garlic and cook for about another 30 seconds. add sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. to the cooking mushrooms add the wine and continue cooking till the wine has soaked into the mushrooms, take about 3-5 minutes on high heat. add the spinach and stir.cook till spinach wilts. remove from heat, taste, add salt and pepper to your liking.
3. now, to make the bechamel: in a medium to small saucepan heat 2tbl of oil, add the reserved onion and garlic, cook for about 3 minutes or until onion is softened. stir in 2 tbl of flour and with a whisk, stir for about 2 minutes (be careful not to brown it, you just want it pale in color). whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. continue whisking until the milk mixture begins to thicken. turn the heat to a low, whisk often for 10 minutes until thickened. season with pinch of salt and pepper.
4. to assemble the lasagna: spoon a thin layer of bechamel on the bottom of the dish and top with a layer of noodles. spread half the mushroom mixture over the noodles and top with bechamel and some grated parmesan. lay the next layer of noodles and repeat, ending with a layer noodles and then béchamel on top. sprinkle with some more parmesan.
5. cover baking dish with foil bake for 30 minutes. remove foil and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.