Mushroom Ragu & Onion Bechamel Lasagna

01Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees.

02Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside. Tip: Lay the noodles out on a kitchen towel after draining to prevent them from sticking together as they cool down, use tongs.

03To make the mushrooms, melt the butter in a large Dutch oven. Add garlic, sauté until fragrant, add in mushrooms, stir gently to coat. Sauté mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until they start to brown. Season with thyme and salt. Then add in the wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, bring to a gentle simmer, another 5 minutes until liquid is reduced. Turn off heat and set aside.

04For the bechamel sauce, heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the shallot and sauté, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, it should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk slowly, and bring to a simmer, continue whisking until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Turn off heat and whisk in parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

05To assemble, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 9x13-inch, 2-inch deep baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then one-third of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Fontina cheese. Repeat two more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Fontina. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Fontina.

06Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly. Once out of the oven let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.