I expected my mushroom lasagna to turn out very good, but it pleasantly surprised me. Flavorful, tender, and filling, it tasted terrific. Meaty oyster mushrooms turned out a to be a good substitute for beef that I normally use, they almost had a similar texture. Addition of caramelized onions – sweet, savory and flavorful – made the lasagna even more flavorful. Preparation time for this mushroom lasagna, unlike meat lasagna, is fairly short. Prepare your lasagna noodles and set aside. In a bow, mix ricotta cheese with salt, eggs, dill, and parsley. Both dill and parsley can be optional, depending on your taste preferences. Saute onions first over medium heat until golden brown for about 8-10 minutes and transfer into a bowl. Then saute your mushrooms in the same skillet. You want to start sauteing them over high heat first, for about 5-6 minutes to let the water evaporate as quickly as possible – mushrooms release a fair bit of water. Otherwise, they will cook in water without getting a nice, deep golden-brown crust. Next, turn the heat down to medium, add back onions and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Now that all the prep work is done, we are ready to assemble the lasagna. Spread about 1 tablespoon ricotta mix on the bottom of an 8 x 8 inch baking pan. If you don’t have one of a similar size, use a bigger one. If it’s much bigger, you may want to scale the recipe proportionately. Layer noodles, followed by ricotta filling, followed by mozzarella cheese, and finishing with Parmesan cheese. Repeat with another layer. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes at 375F. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Let the lasagna cool for 10-15 minutes and serve.
