The Best Vegetarian Lasagna

Total Time: 2 hrs 35 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 cups milk
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lbs shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
• 1/2 lb spinach, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 5 cups whole canned tomatoes, crushed
• 1 lb lasagna noodle
• 2 1/2 cups grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 2 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• 2 grease 9x13" baking pan with 1 tbsp.butter.
• 3 cover dried tomatoes with 1 cup boiling water; soak for 20 minutes. drain. chop. set aside.
• 4 make bechamel sauce: heat 8 tablespoons butter in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. add shallots and carrots; cook for 5 minutes. add flour; cook two minutes. whisk in milk; boil. reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, whisking, until thick, 20-25 minutes. season with salt and pepper.
• 5 meanwhile, heat olive oil and remaining butter in a 6 quart pot over medium-high heat. add mushrooms; cook 10 minutes. add dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and tomato paste; coo 3 minutes. add canned tomatoes. cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. set sauce aside.
• 6 spread 2 cups of tomato sauce in baking dish. cover with a layer of noodles (uncooked). spread 1 cup bechamel sauce over top; sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each cheese and 2 cups tomato sauce. repeat layering 2 more times.
• 7 top with remaining noodles, tomato sauce, bechamel, and cheeses.
• 8 bake, covered with foil, on a baking sheet for 1 hour. remove foil; raise oven temp to 500 degrees. bake until golden, 15 minutes.
• 9 allow to stand 15-20 minutes before cutting into servings.