Lasagne has changed a bit over the years from what the original dish consisted of (alternate layers of pasta, cheese and often ragù or tomato sauce) and I suppose it was inevitable that chefs worldwide would use their culinary imaginations to alter the ingredients. I found 20 such recipes from one site all a bit different from the original version.

Serves 6
recipe from Delicious magazine

70g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
850ml milk
260g (1 cup) good quality basil pesto
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
750g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
10g dried porcini mushrooms soaked in 100ml boiling water for 10 minutes
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
80 ml (1/3 cup) thickened cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
250g instant lasagne sheets

Melt 40g butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until bubbling. Gradually add milk, whisking until combined and cook until thickened. Stir in pesto. Cover surface with baking paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 180c. Melt remaining 30g butter in a large pan over low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until softened. Add mushrooms, increase heat to medium high and cook 2-3 minutes until softened. Add porcini with liquid (be sure to strain the liquid first), then bring to a boil. Stir in parsley, cream and 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Remove from heat. Spread a few spoonfuls of pesto sauce on the base of an 8 cup (2 litre) baking dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, spread with half the mushrooms then repeat with more pasta and remaining mushrooms. Top with more pesto sauce. Cover first with baking paper and then with foil. Bake 45 minutes then uncover and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake a further 20 minutes or until golden. Cool 10 minutes then slice and serve.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: I quickly scanned the recipe and didn’t follow the directions……not because I thought I could do a better job it was, in fact, an error on my part. First I put 70g of butter in the pan to melt and combined with 40g of flour. I thought it strange that these two ingredients weren’t the same amounts. It was only after I re-read the instructions that I realized my mistake. Then, I didn’t add the extra bit of baking paper before the tin foil. Perhaps that’s why my lasagne top looks like it’s going to take off – like a magic carpet! Having said all of this, the lasagne did turn out to be quite a delicious tasting meal. Consensus around the table was to make it again!