Jan 2

Jan 2 Mushroom and tarragon lasagna

First of all Happy new year! I hope you all had a wonderful start to 2024. My first recipe of this year is a mushroom and tarragon lasagna. Creamy layers of vegan bechamel, sauteed mushrooms, cheese and tarragon make this the perfect weeknight dinner that everyone will love. Tarragon is a great addition to mushrooms, why didn’t I think of this earlier? It is one of those herbs that is often overlooked because apart from a few classics we don’t know how to use it. So this lasagna is here to show you how to use tarragon in a different and refreshing way.

Recipe

This serves 4 people

Ingredients

500 gr of white button mushrooms or any other mushroom you like
olive oil, as much as needed
2 shallots, minced
10 gr of fresh tarragon
1 pack of egg-free lasagna sheets
vegan parmesan, my favorite brand here
Salt and pepper
1 tsp of mushroom stock powder or swap with a few dried porcini mushrooms

For the bechamel

2 tbs of all purpose flour
3 tbs of plant based butter
1 L of plant based milk, I like to use oatmilk
salt and pepper
a pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

Start by making the bechamel. Melt the butter in a pot.
Once melted add the flour and whisk together to form a uniforme roux/paste
Fry this paste, whilst whisking for a few seconds then add half of the milk and whisk vigorously to avoid clumps.
Let it come a boil, still whisking, and see how thick the bechamel is.
Add more milk to thin the sauce out until it has the concistency of a runny pancake batter.
Make sure to let it come to a boil before adding more milk.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside.
Add a good amount of olive oil, about 4 to 6 tablespoons, in a frying pan.
Slice the mushrooms and add them to the pan.
Fry until golden and browned for 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the mushroom stock powder and shallots half way to frying process.
Remove from the stove and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Start by assembling the lasagna. Add a layer of bechamel to the bottom of a baking dish.
Layer with lasagna sheets, more bechamel, grated parmesan, tarragon and lasagna sheets again.
Add a layer of mushrooms and top again with lasagna sheets.
Cover with bechamel, cheese, tarragon and pasta.
Cover again with bechamel, mushrooms and pasta.
Add a final layer of bechamel and the remaining mushrooms.
Cover with thin foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove the foil after the 40 minutes and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbly on top.
Buon appetito!