That's a big claim. I created this lasagna after having the best mushroom and black olive pizza I've ever tasted in Italy.
If you decide to make 'substitutions' to my recipe I wouldn't bother making it.
Prep the following ingredients not in any specific order:
1 large sweet onion* The onion should be the ‘sweet variety. It’s got less ‘heat’ than a regular table onion. In the food processor fine chop the onion. Put the chopped onion into a cold water bath for a few minutes. This helps remove the bitter heat and leaves just a nice onion flavour. I do this whenever I’m making any recipe calling for onion. Rinse and drain and pat dry on some PTs. Then gently sauté the onion in a T of olive oil to just soften the onion. Remove from the pan and set aside.
20 medium size mushrooms. Use the ‘slicer’ blade on the food processor to thin slice the mushrooms.
Sauté the mushrooms in 2T olive oil until just soft. You don’t have to fry them until ‘golden brown’. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle on a heaping T of dried oregano. This is the only herb you’ll be using. Set aside .
2 375 ml tins of sliced black olives drained. I use ‘Unico’. Drain the tins but don’t put them together and don’t rinse them. You’ll be using a tin each in different layers.
1 500 gram wedge of Asiago cheese.
It really needs to be Asiago cheese to give it that ‘special something’. Mozza cheese doesn’t have the same flavour hit as Asiago. Into the freezer for 30 minutes then grate it using the grater blade on the food processor. Set aside in the fridge. You can buy pre-grated packages of three types of cheese but they are more expensive.
Spinach:
2 bunches of fresh spinach. Cut off an inch or so of the stems. Carefully wash each leaf to make positive it doesn’t have any dirt on it. Rinse well and pat dry. Set aside.* If you use thawed frozen spinach squeeze out as much water as you can before using it.
Lasagna noodles: I use Catelli noodles but rice noodles and other types of noodles are available.
In a large pot of salted boiling water put each noodle in separately and at different angles so they don’t stick together. Boil them until just cooked through. Drain and cool in cold water to stop them from cooking. Set aside.
Build:
Use olive oil to coat the inside of the glass lasagna pan. The order of the layers isn’t that important.
I put a layer down of three lasagna noodles.
Then a light sprinkle of grated cheese.
Then a layer of sweet onion. This is the only sweet onion layer.
Then a light sprinkle of Asiago cheese.
Then a layer of noodles.
Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a layer of the mushroom/oregano* There will be some liquid with the mushrooms. Use it. The noodles will absorb the tasty flavors.
Then a tin of sliced black olives. Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a layer of spinach. Use it all.
Then a layer of three noodles.
Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a tin of black olives.
And finally sprinkle on whatever Asiago cheese is left. There should be enough to cover the black olives.
You’ll need to press down on the layers to fit them all into the glass dish.
But everything fits.
Pro Tip: At this point use a very sharp knife to cut through the lasagna to make what later will be individual portions. The portions are a lot easier to remove from the pan this way before serving. I use a steel egg turner to remove the portions.
You can make the lasagna the day before serving and keep it covered in the fridge.
When you want to serve put the lasagna into a 275-300 F oven for an hour or so. When you see the sides bubbling remove and serve.
If you use too high a heat the cheese and top layer of noodles will turn hard. Better to heat the lasagna for a longer time using low heat.
Enjoy!
If you decide to make 'substitutions' to my recipe I wouldn't bother making it.
Prep the following ingredients not in any specific order:
1 large sweet onion* The onion should be the ‘sweet variety. It’s got less ‘heat’ than a regular table onion. In the food processor fine chop the onion. Put the chopped onion into a cold water bath for a few minutes. This helps remove the bitter heat and leaves just a nice onion flavour. I do this whenever I’m making any recipe calling for onion. Rinse and drain and pat dry on some PTs. Then gently sauté the onion in a T of olive oil to just soften the onion. Remove from the pan and set aside.
20 medium size mushrooms. Use the ‘slicer’ blade on the food processor to thin slice the mushrooms.
Sauté the mushrooms in 2T olive oil until just soft. You don’t have to fry them until ‘golden brown’. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle on a heaping T of dried oregano. This is the only herb you’ll be using. Set aside .
2 375 ml tins of sliced black olives drained. I use ‘Unico’. Drain the tins but don’t put them together and don’t rinse them. You’ll be using a tin each in different layers.
1 500 gram wedge of Asiago cheese.
It really needs to be Asiago cheese to give it that ‘special something’. Mozza cheese doesn’t have the same flavour hit as Asiago. Into the freezer for 30 minutes then grate it using the grater blade on the food processor. Set aside in the fridge. You can buy pre-grated packages of three types of cheese but they are more expensive.
Spinach:
2 bunches of fresh spinach. Cut off an inch or so of the stems. Carefully wash each leaf to make positive it doesn’t have any dirt on it. Rinse well and pat dry. Set aside.* If you use thawed frozen spinach squeeze out as much water as you can before using it.
Lasagna noodles: I use Catelli noodles but rice noodles and other types of noodles are available.
In a large pot of salted boiling water put each noodle in separately and at different angles so they don’t stick together. Boil them until just cooked through. Drain and cool in cold water to stop them from cooking. Set aside.
Build:
Use olive oil to coat the inside of the glass lasagna pan. The order of the layers isn’t that important.
I put a layer down of three lasagna noodles.
Then a light sprinkle of grated cheese.
Then a layer of sweet onion. This is the only sweet onion layer.
Then a light sprinkle of Asiago cheese.
Then a layer of noodles.
Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a layer of the mushroom/oregano* There will be some liquid with the mushrooms. Use it. The noodles will absorb the tasty flavors.
Then a tin of sliced black olives. Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a layer of spinach. Use it all.
Then a layer of three noodles.
Then a sprinkle of cheese.
Then a tin of black olives.
And finally sprinkle on whatever Asiago cheese is left. There should be enough to cover the black olives.
You’ll need to press down on the layers to fit them all into the glass dish.
But everything fits.
Pro Tip: At this point use a very sharp knife to cut through the lasagna to make what later will be individual portions. The portions are a lot easier to remove from the pan this way before serving. I use a steel egg turner to remove the portions.
You can make the lasagna the day before serving and keep it covered in the fridge.
When you want to serve put the lasagna into a 275-300 F oven for an hour or so. When you see the sides bubbling remove and serve.
If you use too high a heat the cheese and top layer of noodles will turn hard. Better to heat the lasagna for a longer time using low heat.
Enjoy!
I know, I know. You're thinking that this is a big sacrifice of my time. But I'm willing to do it for the sake of everyone on DC. I'd like to recieve the samples on Saturday, so get cooking.
