Slow-Cooker Vegetable and Pumpkin Lasagna

This is practically an all day event.  The recipe says prep time 10 minutes.  It took about 10 minutes just to wash and quarter the mushrooms.  This dish serves 12.  I am hoping to divide in half and freeze ½ for Wednesday dinner before Thanksgiving.  That leaves me with serving for 6.  My hope is that it will be enough for tonight and tomorrow as I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow.  I got this recipe out of the November Williams Sonoma catalogue.

Ingredients:

2 jars (each 24 oz.) Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta Sauce (available at Williams Sonoma)

4 T EVOO

1 # Spinach

2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 # cremini mushrooms, quartered

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

15 ruffle-edge lasagna noodles (not no-boil noodles) I used 1 box of whole wheat noodles, there were 16 in the box)

2 C béchamel sauce (recipe follows)

1 ¼ # mozzarella cheese, grated

1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated

Directions:

1.       In a bowl, whisk pasta sauce and 2 C water; set aside.

2.       In a large skillet over medium heat, warm 1T EVOO.  Add spinach; cover with a lid, and cook 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to colander; press out moisture.

3.       Set skillet over medium heat again and add a second T of EVOO.  Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until browned, 15 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl. 

4.       Add 2 T of EVOO to the skillet and cook the mushrooms for about 8-10 minutes until they are brown and their liquid is reabsorbed.  Add the mushrooms and the drained spinach to the onions and stir well.  Season with salt and pepper. 

5.       You have to make the béchamel sauce before starting the next step.

6.       In your slow cooker spread a thin layer of pumpkin sauce on the bottom of the insert.  Proceed with the following layering 4 times. 

               Cover with a thin layer of noodles, about 3, breaking as needed to fit.

              Top noodles with 1 ½ C pumpkin sauce

              ½ C béchamel sauce

              ¼ of the vegetable mixture

              1 C mozzarella

7.        Top with the remaining noodles, pumpkin sauce, mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  

8.       Cover; cook on low for 4 hours.  Let lasagna rest 20 minutes, and then serve.

Ingredients for Béchamel:   (makes 2 Cups for the above recipe)

4 T butter

4 T flour

2 C milk (scalded, I used the microwave on high for 2 minutes.)

1 small onion studded with 6 cloves

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.       Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan.

2.       Add the flour and blend over low heat for about 5 minutes.

3.       Whisk in the milk slowly.  Add the onion and bay leaf.  Continue to cook on low for 20 minutes.

4.       Remove the onion and bay leaf and you are ready for the above recipe. 

This dish was worth every minute of the time spent.  I think it is the best pasta dish I have ever made.  I was able to successfully divide it up for tomorrow night and able to get it into a dish in the freezer for the night before Thanksgiving.  Mary, if you are reading this, this is Wednesday dinner when you arrive.