Lamb & Mushroom Lasagna

This hearty lasagna is full of ground lamb, sauteed mushrooms, and three kinds of cheese

We have a friend who usually watches our cats when we're out of town, and her two favorite things to eat are mushrooms and lamb. As payment for cat sitting, we had her over for dinner and served this meaty, mushroomy lasagna. There are three major components of the lasagna: the meat and mushroom tomato sauce, the herbed ricotta cheese blend, and the noodles. The most time consuming part is making the sauce, but it only takes about thirty minutes and you can even do that a day or two in advance and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use. I like the ease of using no-boil lasagna noodles, but I quickly soak them in hot water before assembling to make sure they get soft enough to eat. I stack the whole thing high so to have three layers of noodles and five of cheese and sauce. The end result is a bubbling and rich lasagna that's full of sautéed mushrooms, ground lamb, and three types of cheese. Leftovers will keep for days and taste even better the second time around.

Note: You can easily sub ground beef or turkey for the lamb in this recipe.


Related Recipes:
- Short Rib & Spinach Lasagna
- Eggplant & Ricotta Roll-ups with Tomato Sauce
- Corn, Zucchini, & Poblano Lasagna


Ground Lamb & Cremini Mushroom Lasagna:
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cremini mushrooms, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 lb. ground lamb
- 1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 lb. ricotta cheese
- 1 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 lb. no-boil lasagna noodles
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- handful of chopped parsley
- handful of chopped basil
- pinch red chile flakes
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper

Recipe

• Heat a pot or small dutch oven over high heat and add in 1 tbsp. olive oil until just starting to smoke.
• Add half the mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside on a plate. Add in more olive oil and the remaining mushrooms and repeat.
• Add in another tbsp. olive oil to the pot and add in ground lamb and a very large pinch of salt and pepper.
• Cook the lamb, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until no longer pink.
• Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add in tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it turns a rusty color.
• Add in crushed tomatoes, the mushrooms, red chile flakes, and a very large pinch of salt.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until thickened.
• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Soak lasagna noodles in a bowl of hot tap water.
• In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, basil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper.
• To assemble the lasagna, ladle a small amount of the sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish, then top with a layer of noodles, a layer of the ricotta mixture, a layer of the sauce, and a layer of mozzarella. Repeat another three times, ending with a layer of sauce and mozzarella.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
• Cool for 10-15 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.

Serves eight