For ➏
750 g chestnut mushrooms, halved
500 g oyster mushrooms
13 cl olive oil, plus extra for greasing
60 g dried porcini
30 g dried wild mushrooms
2 dried red chillies, roughly chopped, (remove the seeds for a less spicy
result)
50 cl hot vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled, quartered
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, scraped, quartered, 90 g
2-3 roma tomatoes, quartered, 200 g
75 g tomato paste
13 cl whipped cream*
60 g pecorino romano, finely grated*
60 g Parmigiano, finely grated*
5 g basil leaves, finely chopped
10 g parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus 1 ts extra for dressing
250 g dried lasagne sheets (approx. 14 sheets)**
salt & black pepper
Heat the oven to 230 °C.
Place the chestnut and oyster mushrooms in three or four batches in the
large bowl of a food processor and chop finely using the pulse button (or
chop by hand). In a large mixing bowl, toss the chopped mushrooms with 3 tbs
oil and 1 ts salt and spread on a large, parchment-lined baking tray with a
raised edge measuring 40 x 35 cm. Bake them in the top of the oven for 30 m,
turning them three times in between until the mushrooms are golden brown;
the volume will have shrunk considerably. Set them aside. Lower the oven
temperature to 200 °C.
Meanwhile, in another mixing bowl, mix the dried mushrooms with chilies and
hot stock and soak for 30 m. Strain the liquid into a third bowl and press
as much moisture as possible out of the mushrooms, you will need about 34 cl
in total; top up the soaking water with fresh water if necessary. Chop the
soaked mushrooms very coarsely (so that there are also large pieces) and
chop the chilies. Set aside the stock and mushrooms separately.
Chop the onion, garlic and carrot in the food processor with the pulse
button (or by hand). Heat 6 cl oil in a large sauté pan over medium to high
heat. When hot, add the onion mixture and cook for 8 m, stirring
occasionally, until cooked through and golden brown.
Chop the tomatoes in the food processor with the pulse button (or chop them
by hand), add them with the tomato paste, 1½ ts salt and
1¾ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Let everything simmer for 7
m, stirring occasionally. Add the soaked mushrooms, chilies and toasted
mushrooms and let everything cook gently for 9 m, resist the urge to stir:
the mushrooms should be slightly crispy and brown on the underside.
Stir in the reserved stock and 80 cl water, turn the heat to medium-high
when everything is simmering gently and let the sauce simmer for about 25 m,
stirring occasionally until it has the consistency of ragout. Stir 10 cl of
whipped cream into the sauce and let it simmer for 2 m more then take the
pan off the heat.
Mix the pecorino and Parmigino with basil and parsley in a small bowl. When
assembling the lasagna, spread one-fifth of the sauce over the bottom of a
round baking dish of 28 cm in diameter (or a rectangular dish of 30 x 20
cm), spread one-fifth of the cheese mixture on top, followed by a layer of
lasagne sheets, broken where necessary to make them fit. Repeat these layers
three times in the same order, finishing with a layer of sauce and cheese: a
total of five layers of sauce and cheese, and four layers of pasta.
Drizzle the top with 1 tbs of cream and 1 tbs of oil, cover the dish with
aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 15 m. Remove the foil, increase the
oven temperature to 220 ° C and bake the lasagna for another 12 m, turning
the dish halfway through the baking time. Switch the oven to the grill
setting and grill the lasagna for 2 m until the edge is brown and
crispy.
Put the bowl aside, let the lasagna cool for about 5 m, then drizzle the
top with the remaining whipped cream and oil. Sprinkle with the remaining
parsley, finally grind a generous twist of pepper and serve.
*Discard for vegan version.
**Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it to serve it with pasta or polenta
and save yourself the trouble of putting together a lasagna if you don't have
much time. You can prepare the lasagna in advance, put it in the refrigerator
and bake it the next day (after it has reached room temperature).
This special ragout pays tribute to the penne all'Aconese, served at Restaurante Pizzeria Acone, a community-run restaurant in the Tuscan town of Acone. The recipe is a carefully kept secret, but the complex, earthy and full umami flavor of dried porcini is not to be missed. This is Ottolenghi's meatless take on that mythical sauce.
