White Lasagne, or Lasagne in Bianco

While browsing a variety of Italian websites recently, I noticed several white lasagne recipes, so naturally I got a hankering for “Lasagne in Bianco” and decided to make some by customizing my version with new ingredient combinations. Later that day the other gourmaniac was in the kitchen rolling out a fresh lasagna sheet. I knew we were on our way!

Although the bechamel sauce I chose to make is a rather basic one (OK, so I added sweet red wine to mine), the freshly ground nutmeg adds a wonderful dimension and fragrance to the dish without overpowering it. You won’t believe the difference between fresh-ground and store bought nutmeg powder until you compare them side by side. While enjoying the heady scent emanating from my spice grinder, I immediately wondered whether some perfumes use nutmeg in their fragrance, so I looked it up and found that it’s true!

Well, back to my lasagne, I decided that using arugula instead of the traditional spinach, and adding chopped gourmet sausage, would give this dish an unusually pleasing variation. I also felt that using creamy-rich Bufala mozzarella and bechamel sauce made the ricotta redundant, so I omitted it altogether. As we savored the last morsel of the white lasagne, here at 2gourmaniacs, we agreed that this was truly one of the best lasagne dishes we had ever had. The plated serving was very pleasing to the eye, as well as the palate and the nose, with its green, red, and white composition (coincidentally, the Italian flag colors!). Next I’ll be making Lasagne Verdi, or green lasagne from Napoli.

Ingredients (for 4 portions)

Bechamel sauce:

~ ½ cup minced shallots
~ 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
~ 1/3 cup flour
~ 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
~ ½ teaspoon white pepper
~ ½ teaspoon black pepper
~ 2 tablespoons pine nuts
~ 3 cups milk (preferably whole; I used 2%)
~ ½ cup chicken stock
~ 2 small eggs, lightly beaten
~ ¼ cup semi-sweet red wine
~ 1 teaspoon freshly ground salt
~ ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese

Filling and Lasagne:

~ 8 home-made lasagne sheets, approximately 8″ x 5″ or about 10 store bought lasagne sheets, cut to size to fit an 8″x8″ baking dish with some overlap
~ 3 organic chicken sausage links, casings removed and chopped small (mine were stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and provolone)
~ 1 large bunch arugula, washed and dried in salad spinner, hard stems discarded, and coarsely chopped
~  6 medium mushrooms, cut in half, sliced and sautéed
~ 2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéeing mushrooms
~ 2 tablespoons chopped parsley to stir into mushrooms
~ 2 large ovoline/balls of mozzarella di Bufala, sliced
~ ½ cup grated Parmigiano for sprinkling in each lasagna layer and on top
~ 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped

Method:

For the sauce, begin by sautéeing chopped shallots in butter in a saucepan, stirring for a few minutes over medium heat. Add the flour and continue to stir together over low-heat. Add nutmeg, and whisk milk and chicken stock into the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer and add eggs, stirring often while letting the sauce reduce over low-heat for about 15 minutes. Let the sauce cool down and add red wine, grated cheese, pine nuts, and salt and pepper. Set aside. Warm again when ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you are using store bought lasagne, prepare according to package instructions, then cut pieces to size to fit into an 8″x8″x2″ baking dish. If using fresh dough sheets, also cut to size but do not cook dough first. Be sure to roll out the lasagne sheets when you are almost ready to start layering the baking dish or it will dry out. Any extra dough sheets can be cut into fettuccine and stored in the fridge or freezer.

Sautée sliced mushrooms in olive oil, add some salt and pepper, chopped parsley and set aside. In a separate skillet, quickly sautée chopped sausage and arugula in olive oil and set aside as well.

Pour a thin layer of bechamel sauce at bottom of baking dish. Add a layer of lasagne sheets (2 pieces, about 8″x5″ each, overlapping a bit) and top with the mushrooms, sausage and arugula, mozzarella, and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Pour sauce on the layer and continue adding the next pieces of lasagne, repeating the layering process about 4 times. On the very top layer, add a thicker coating of bechamel and grated Parmigiano. Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes. Be sure to let the lasagne rest and set for at least half an hour before cutting and serving, especially if it’s made with fresh pasta dough which needs to set for a quite a while (you can quickly reheat the servings in a microwave before serving, once it has set). Divide lasagne on plates, sprinkle with chopped basil and cheese, an extra dusting of nutmeg and serve, but try not eat all four portions if there is only two of you! It will be even better for lunch the next day … I ought to know.  🙂

RSA

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