Lasagna del Bosco

by Marc Bellazzini

Fall 2023 Issue

Prep time: 40 Minutes

Cook time: 1 Hour

Serves: 12

Lasagna del bosco is an original dish from the Bellazzini family and translates to “lasagna of the woods.” In their opinion, it is the perfectfall comfort food. Fragrant sage and bountiful bunches of rosemary from the garden bring a freshness and warmth, while mushrooms add a rich fall flair. Wild porcini and hen-of-thewoods mushrooms are plentiful in autumn and can be substituted for the cremini mushrooms. At their farm-to-table dinners on Friday and Saturday nights, the Bellazzinis love serving this recipe as a primo piatto, in small squares, as they often do in Italy after the salad but before the main entreé. For more tasty Italian recipes that use local food, visit the Campo di Bella website and explore their cookbook Campo di Bella At Home.

Serves 12 as a starter, 8 as a meal

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed

1 cup dry white wine

12 tablespoons butter, divided

1½ pounds cremini mushrooms, diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

4 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

or ½ teaspoon dried nutmeg

½ cup all-purpose flour

6 cups whole milk

12 lasagna sheets, pre-boiled in salted water and strained

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.

In a large sauté pan, combine the Italian sausage with a small amount of olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until lightly browned. Deglaze the pan with wine, simmering until reduced. Transfer the sausage to a large bowl.

Without cleaning the pan, add 4 tablespoons of the butter. Allow it to melt over medium heat and then add the mushrooms, rosemary, sage, and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Cook until the mushrooms have softened and released some of their liquid, about 5–8 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the bowl of sausage and toss to combine.

Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter to a medium pot and melt over low heat. Add the freshly grated nutmeg and stir for about a minute. Add the flour and continue to stir on low heat for 3–4 minutes to cook the roux. Add the milk, about 1 cup at a time, and continuously whisk until the mixture has come to a simmer and is smooth and thickened. Add another 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste), stir, and remove the sauce from heat.

To assemble the lasagna, spread a shallow layer of the sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish, then top with a small amount of the sausage and mushrooms. Next add 3 lasagna noodles in a single layer. Follow this with another layer of sauce, sausage and mushrooms along with a sprinkle of Parmesan and Pecorino cheeses. Continue alternating with a layer of lasagna noodles followed by a layer of sauce, sausage, mushrooms, and cheese until there are four layers of lasagna noodles. You should finish with a layer of sauce, sausage, mushrooms and cheese.

Cover the lasagna and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven and loosely tent aluminum foil over the top. Allow the lasagna to rest for 15 minutes before serving.