Lasagna alla bolognese is one of our favorite pasta dishes and we love to make it ahead of time and in large quantities to be able to share it at a Sunday family dinner, offer a portion to friends and even have supper ready for two days in a row. However, we don’t want to get bored, so we thought it would be fun to play with some unforgettable seasonal fillings. Let’s start with the sweetness of pumpkin, then move on to mushrooms and finally end with chestnuts.
Lasagna with pumpkin and gorgonzola bechamel
For six people, you need 1 1/3 pounds of pumpkin, already cleaned, 2 1/2 cups of bechamel, 1 pound of lasagna, 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 7 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese, 1 onion, extra-virgin olive oil, nutmeg and pepper.
Slice the pumpkin thinly and sauté it in a pan with oil and the chopped onion. Heat the bechamel and add the Gorgonzola cheese, cut into small pieces, stirring to blend. Now it’s time to assemble the lasagna. In a baking dish, create a first layer of Gorgonzola bechamel, top with the lasagna sheets, parboiled for 2 minutes in salted boiling water, lay the pumpkin slices on top of these in an even layer, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pour another two ladles of bechamel over the top. Continue this way with more layers until you reach the rim of the baking dish. Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes.
Lasagna with mushroom ragù and scamorza
For six people, you need 1 pound of lasagna, 14 ounces of mixed mushrooms, including porcini, 11 ounces of smoked scamorza cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Add oil to a pan, fry 1 clove of garlic and remove it before adding the mushrooms, previously cleaned and cut into strips. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Chop 2/3 of the mushrooms and set aside the rest. In a baking dish, create a first layer of bechamel, top with a layer of lasagna, parboiled for 2 minutes in salted boiling water, add another layer of bechamel, the mushrooms and cover with thin slices of smoked scamorza cheese. Continue this way with more layers until you reach the rim of the dish and garnish the last layer with the whole mushrooms and a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Lasagna with radicchio, chestnuts and speck
For six people, you need 1 pound of lasagna, 11 ounces of speck, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1 1/3 pounds of chestnuts (cooked and peeled), 2 cups of whole milk, 1 1/2 pounds of radicchio, 1 shallot, 1/2 cup of white wine, nutmeg, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
In a pan, fry the chopped shallot, then add the radicchio, cut into strips, deglaze with the white wine, season with salt and pepper and cook gently for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, heat the milk in a saucepan on the stove and flavor it with nutmeg. When it comes to a boil, add the chestnuts which have been pressed through a food mill. Cook for about 10 minutes, until it thickens. At this point, assemble the lasagna in a baking dish, starting with a layer of chestnut cream, then a layer of lasagna, previously parboiled for 2 minutes in salted boiling water, then some more cream, the radicchio and the speck. On the last layer, add the grated parmesan cheese and bake at 425°F for 30 minutes.