Emeril Lagasse, BAM!!! We all know him and love him. Amber used to sit in her swing and watch him intently as a baby and then fall into a blissful sleep. I have watched, cooked, drooled, laughed, baked all along with Emeril through his wonderful career. He has great recipes and we have definitely enjoyed them all. His wonderful spice that he uses is made and in our cupboard, his recipes are stowed in my cookbooks. I have dined at his restaurants and have not had a dish I didn’t like.
Today I give to you one of the best lasagnas I have ever had. The best vegetarian one for sure!! You might think I am turning into a veggie head but I am not, don’t worry I love meat too much!! In saying that though there are lots of dishes that really don’t need it and you don’t miss it. This is one of them, rich, creamy and full of flavor that no meat is required. I guess you could add chicken in here but why??? You certainly don’t need it. I think it would hinder it more than anything.
This is a great dish to serve company as I just did with a big Italian salad, oh so yummy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have and we have made it many times.
- 20 oz. package fresh spinach, tough stems removed and washed
- 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- ¼ cup shallots, minced
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed, sliced and then cut in half
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- ⅛ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
- 2½ cup Parmesan, grated
- 15 oz. fresh ricotta
- 18 slices provolone, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups mozzarella
- 16 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
- Preheat oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spinach for 2-3 min. Stirring part way through to make sure it evenly cooks. Drain in a fine mesh sieve. Once it is cool squeeze it out with your hands, getting out as much as possible. Finely chop and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium high heat melt the 1 Tbsp.butter and add the shallots and garlic, stir for 1 min. Add the mushrooms and a ¼ tsp. salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until the mushrooms have let off their liquid, about 5 min. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In a large saucepan melt the remaining 4 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add the flour and let cook for 2 min. stirring with a whisk. Slowly add in the milk whisking constantly. Let the mixture come up to a simmer until it is thickened, whisking often. Add ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. black pepper, nutmeg and 1 cup of Parmesan now stirring with a wooden spoon for about 2 min. until thickened. Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl combine the ricotta and the mozzarella with a ¼ cup of the sauce.
- Spray a 9×13″ pan with cooking spray. Spoon ½ cup of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Divide the mushrooms and spinach into four equal parts and sprinkle ¼ of the mushrooms and spinach over the sauce. Next arrange a layer of 4 noodles side by side. Spread a layer of the sauce over the noodles now using a bit more than ½ cup. Top again with a ¼ mushrooms and spinach and a ⅓ of the ricotta mixture and 6 sliced provolone. Repeat these layers twice more ending with the noodles. Use the rest of the sauce on top of the lasagna noodles and sprinkle with the remaining 1½ cups of Parmesan.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil (you can refrigerate the lasagna now if needed). Bake in the oven for 30 min. Remove from the oven and bake for another 10-15 min. until golden brown and bubbling. You may want to run it under a broiler for a minute.
- Let rest for 10-15 min. before serving. Serve hot!!
Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse
OH YUM! Have you ever tried using the lasagna noodle that you don’t have to pre-cook? In my pre-celiac days I used them often and loved not having to deal with sloppy sheets of pasta. Also, I bet KALE would go very nicely in this instead of the spinach.
Not a big fan of those lasagna noodles that you don’t have to pre-cook. Haven’t worked with them enough to be comfortable. I need to get cooking with kale though. I am interested in that!!
Just finished putting it together and used 1/2 spinach and 1/2 kale. Also, this need some clarification “Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium high meat melt the butter” Is it all the butter or 1T? You use 4T later in teh instructions to make the bechamel. Is that 4 more T for a total of 9 in the whole recipe?
Can’t figure out why the stars lit up here – not my doing!
Oh my goodness!!! This lasagna looks so good! Love that you added mushrooms and spinach!!! Totally going to try this!
Thanks for coming over Alice, it is one of our favorites!!
I’ve made this recipe a few times before and agree it’s absolutely delish! Which reminds me, I haven’t made it this year yet and I’m always looking for a good meatless Monday recipe. This will be making an appearance soon. P.S. mine didn’t look nearly as pretty as yours!
Thanks for coming over Elisabeth and you will have to put this on the menu right away. It is a show stopper, isn’t it?
Oh Tara this looks fantastic!! Your lasagna looks amazing, Emeril would be proud!!! I have to try this recipe!!
Thanks Jennifer, it is super yummy!!
Tara, this look delicious, I love the photo! I am sure my daughters will enjoy this lasagna.
Thanks so much for coming over Mari, everyone I have served this lasagna to has loved it!!!
Hi Tara,
I have just made — and eaten — this yummy lasagne. Thanks for a fabulous take on the traditional tomoto-ey dish. It’s a definite keeper. My husband and I overate because it’s so scrumptious!
I recently started using the no-boil noodles, (I know, I know. . . ), and am satisfied with the results. Here’s what I changed in the above recipe to compensate for those noodles:
1. 2 cups whole milk
2. 3 cups low-fat milk
My thinking was that since the noodles absorb quite a bit of the liquid, I’d add more milk, with some of it being a more “watery” type in the low-fat one.
And I’ll say too that we like our lasagne to be on the runny side. I don’t like it to be a stiff, dry box of stuff.
So there you have it. Otherwise this recipe is really nicely balanced and delicious! Thanks,
~Josie
Thanks so much for making the lasagna and I am so glad you liked it. Thanks for putting in tips for the no boil noodles, I know my readers will appreciate that. Cheers to you and Happy Friday!!