Monthly Archives: November 2011

Mushroom Lasagna

The leaves disappear from the trees;
The time of the singing of the birds is done;
And the sizzling of sauteed mushrooms can be heard across the land.

There’s a sadness that comes to me in late autumn, as the days shorten and nature’s color palette moves from brilliant yellow, orange and red into the muted browns. But then I think of the mushroom, and my spirits begin to lift. Add in pasta, Parmesan cheese and a bechamel sauce, and let’s just say I’m ready to stop the season’s clock right here and now and live in November forever.

No, I did not make this week’s NY Times recipe for Gooey Wild-Mushroom lasagna – Although it looks delicious, there’s too much cheese in that dish for both my taste and my waistline.  I wanted a simpler recipe that would let the mushroom’s flavors dominate and fit a bit better into a healthy lifestyle. The recipe I ended up using began with Ina Garten (How much do I love her?…), got tweaked a bit at the Smitten Kitchen (Check out those pics…) and then of course, I had to tweak it some more myself to make it less calories and add a few more flavors.  What resulted was honestly one of the best things I have ever made or eaten. We served it for Sunday dinner with broccoli on the side, then the next night as a side with broiled steak (OMG…) , and again tonite as a smaller side along with roast cauliflower and a steak salad. Each time I ate a little less, and enjoyed it a little more. (Meaning it reheats well.)

I’d like to experiment a bit more with this recipe – adding in some shallots, using a bit less flour, perhaps upping the proportion of broth to milk in the bechamel, or replacing it altogether with this olive oil bechamel from Martha Rose Shulman. Turns out Martha Rose has already made a mushroom lasagna with olive oil bechamel. (Great minds think alike.) It looks incredible.  I think I’ll make that one next time. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Mushroom Lasagna

For the pasta
3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

For the bechamel
3 3/4 cups skim milk
1/4 cup mushroom broth (from the cooking mushrooms or made with dried mushrooms – instructions below)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2tbsp butter
1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh pepper
1 clove minced garlic
3 small stems of fresh thyme leaves

For the lasagna
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Paprika (for the top)

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch lasagna pan with olive oil or butter. (I use a le Crueset pan and highly recommend it.) Bring a large pot of water to boil with salt and a oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Slice mushrooms 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium in the bottom of the large skillet or saute pan. Cook the mushrooms with a 1/2 tsp of salt, pepper to taste and the thyme for about 5 minutes, or until they are tender and release some of their juices. (You may need to do this in two batches if you don’t have a really large saute pan). Now here’s what I did that I think is kinda’ clever – you know how the mushrooms give off so darned much liquid, and then by the time you’ve cooked it off you’ve got a small dry mushroom? Well, I got tired waiting for it to cook off and wanted my mushrooms plump, so I drained off about a 1/4 cup of that rich brown broth and added it to my bechamel.  If you don’t want to do that, you can soak some dried mushrooms in boiling water and make a little mushroom broth instead and add that to the bechamel. In the last few minutes, add the garlic so it does not burn.

3. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove and set aside. Melt 1 stick butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour, then cook over a moderate heat constantly stirring until it turns a rich nutty brown (about 4 minutes – don’t leave it and keep stirring). Pour in the hot milk, a little at a time at first and then the rest quickly, whisking to combine. Add the broth, still stirring. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until it is thick (about 5 minutes). Set aside.

4. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan (8×12 or  9 x 13 baking dish). Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce (about 1/4 of what remains), 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Repeat two more times then top with a final layer of noodles, your remaning sauce and last 1/4 cup of parmesan. Sprinkle with a bit of paprika. Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

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More mushroom recipes from TBTAM

What to Eat on NYC Marathon Day – Tri-color Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Keeping with my recent theme of Autumnal-colored meals, I chose a tricolor pasta to use with this luscious creamy mushroom sauce from one of my fave cookbooks, Regional Italian Cuisine. The dish hails from Tuscany, where more genuine folk would serve the sauce with a mixture of homemade egg and spinach tagliatelle, and call it Paglia e Fieno (“Straw and Hay”). It was a great way to use up the last of the basil from my garden before the cold weather gets it.

It was also a great dinner to wind up a brisk autumn day during which I walked the city for over 3 hours – which is what happens when you decide to meet a friend for a walk in Central Park followed by brunch on the day of the NYC Marathon, and find yourself detoured for blocks by the race at practically every turn.  I didn’t mind the extra-long walk a bit – the weather was glorious, the city shining and beautiful, and the people ebullient – this is one of New York City’s finest moments.

On my way to the park, I caught the wheelchair front-runners as they came off the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan.

And happened to be along the Park Drive as the female front runner hit mile 24.

The reservoir, as always, was glorious. And for a Sunday morning, gloriously empty.

We ate brunch on the Upper West Side at French Roast, sitting outside in the sun – how we scored a table without a wait is a small miracle in itself.  On the sidewalk, a bookseller was plying his wares – in this case, a tabletop filled with books on philosophy and psychoanalysis. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Woody Allen was having a stoop sale.

As I headed down Broadway after brunch, marathoners in their orange capes clogged the sidewalks. A half hour later, back near home on First Avenue, runners were still coming off the bridge into Manhattan in droves.  Amazing, really. The sheer number of runners, cheered on by their friends, family and fellow New Yorkers, filling the streets of New York’s boroughs, and Manhattan from the east to the west side.

Detours and police barricades notwithstanding, Marathon Day is hands down my favorite day in this amazing city I am privileged to call home. Congrats to all the runners in today’s race, from the front-runners to the last stragglers. I hope your day was as wonderful as mine.

Tri-Color Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is not exactly a dieter’s dish, although a limited portion served with a large salad could be a meal well within a calorie-counter’s daily budget. To be more genuine use 1/2 lb spinach fettucine and 1/2 pound regular fettucine instead of the tricolor pasta.  To be truly genuine, make your own egg and spinach tagliatelle, as outlined in the original recipe.

1 lb tricolor pasta
3 1/2 ounces mild raw prosciutto
11 ounces fresh mushrooms (I used crimini)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (plus another tbsp or so for the sauce at the end)
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp beef stock
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 tbsp butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for serving

  • Start your pasta water heating.
  • Cut the ham into thin strips and set aside. Clean the mushrooms, slice thin and drizzle with the lemon juice.
  • In a saucepan, melt 1/2 tbsp butter and add the crushed garlic. Simmer over low-med heat until the garlic is soft. Pour in the cream and beef stock and allow to cook down until smooth and dense.
  • Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add the mushrooms and saute until limp. Add the parsley and ham and saute a bit more until the liquid of the mushrooms has evaporated and the ham begins to crisp a bit at the edges.
  • By now, your pasta water should be ready. Start your pasta cooking. When it is done, drain it well and place in a warmed bowl.
  • Season the cream sauce with pepper, salt if needed, and a little more lemon juice, and pour over the hot noodles. Toss with the mushroom-ham mixture and the basil leaves. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Autumn Red Quinoa Salad with Edamame, Roasted Sweet Potato & Cauliflower

Here’s a nice healthy lunch for autumnal days. I love the colors – the bright green edamame, the orange sweet potato, red pepper, and yellow cauliflower against the red grain reminds me of an autumn hillside. Packs easily to take to work and keeps for several days in the fridge. Serve it with a dollop of my new fave food, sheep’s milk yogurt.

Autumn Red Quinoa Salad

I used what I had on hand for this salad – ergo the roast peppers Mr TBAM had just made and the basil and parsely from the garden. The olive oil from the veggies and the peppers was enough for me, but you might want to add a bit more olive oil. We didn’t have any red onion or scallions – if we had I would have used either one.  

For the Quinoa
1 cup red quinoa (I used Quinoa Harvest  Inca Red Quinoa)
2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Roasted veggies
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch dice
1 small head cauliflower, trimmed and slices lengthwise into 1/2  ince slices
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Other salad additions
16 blanched, frozen edamame pods (I used Whole Foods 365 organic edamame)
6 strips roasted red peppers in garlic & olive oil, cut into 1 inch pieces. (We had homemade on hand, you can use jarred)
1 stick celery, cut into small dice
2 heaping tbsps capers (optional – probably not needed if you have scallions or red onion)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (+ a few sprigs for garnish)
6 basil leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 large lemon

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit
  2. In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup red quinoa and 2 cups water with 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on very low heat for 15 minutes without stirring. Remove lid, fluff and cool.
  3. While quinoa is cooking, toss diced potato and cauliflower slices in olive oil, spread out on cookie sheets and sprinkle with kosher salt and generous pepper. Roast 15-30 mins till done, turning halfway through. Let cool.
  4. Steam and slightly cool the edamame. Pop open and collect the seeds in a small bowl. Salt lightly.
  5. In a large bowl, layer the quinoa with the roast veggies, celery, peppers, capers, edamame (all but a few seeds for garnish), basil and parsley. Squeeze juice of a large lemon atop it all and toss lightly. Garnish with a few saved edamame seeds and a bit of parsley. Serve.