How to make White Lasagna ("Lasagne Bianche")

Lasagne are a very famous Italian dish. the preparation might be somehow laborious but it's far from complicated. One of the key ingredients is the Besciamella sauce: Italians DO NOT put ricotta cheese into Lasagna! Please refer to the eHow article "How to Make Besciamella Sauce" for a good preparation. This version is a very popular mushroomed variant of the classical ragu based dish without the tomato sauce for a more delicate flavor. Chianti wines or the more co-regional Sangiovese well compliment this dish. Servings: 4. Preparation Time: up to 70 minutes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 18 ounces (~500 grams) Lasagna pasta.
• 1 garlic clove.
• 14 ounces (~400 ml) Besciamella sauce (see "How to Make Besciamella Sauce" for this).
• 18 ounces (~500 grams) of portabella or porcini mushrooms.
• 14 ounces (~400 grams) of fresh mozzarella cheese.
• a bit of crushed hot peppers.
• 1 white onion.
• 2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil.
• 10 ounces (~300 grams) of ground beef.
• 10 ounces (~300 grams) of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
• salt to taste.
• a hint of nutmeg.

1. Boil the lasagna in plenty boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes (doesn't have to be fully cooked).
2. Drain the pasta and lay the foils down onto a dry clean cloth. This takes the excess water off.
3. In a pan, sear the chopped onion with the olive oil until blond.
4. Add the ground beef and the mushrooms to the onion. Put salt to taste, some nutmeg dust, and some crushed peppers.
5. Once the meat compound is cooked, take it out of the stove and add the previously prepared Besciamella Sauce. Mix thoroughly.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (~200 Celsius).
7. In a deep oven pan, put the first layer of pasta, add a generous layer of meat mix, and punt some slices of mozzarella and some grated Parmigiano.
   Repeat for each layer.
   REMEMBER: the last layer is a cover of mix not pasta.
8. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until a nice brown crust forms on the top.

Tips & Warnings

• You might set aside some extra Besciamella sauce for the top layer (about 4 spoonfuls) to avoid burning and drying the meat.