Serves 4

This is the lasagne to make after a day out mushroom foraging, which I admit is a rarity in this country. For a more casual affair, use ordinary chestnut mushrooms mixed with a punnet of shiitake or the less expensive oyster mushrooms. Do try to use some dried porcini as they add a depth of earthy flavour to the sauce. Alternatively, stir in a teaspoonful of mushroom and truffle paste if you have a jar handy. A few drops of truffle-infused oil would also work wonders.

15g sliced and dried porcini (or ceps)
400g mixed wild mushrooms (such as ceps, pieds bleus, girolles, etc), cleaned
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Splash of Marsala wine
Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Small handful of chives, chopped
Leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
6-8 sheets of dried lasagne
100g grated mozzarella
3 tbsp grated parmesan

For the sauce
30g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of dried English mustard
200ml whole milk
200ml vegetable or chicken stock
25g grated parmesan
25g grated fontina cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 First, reconstitute the dried porcini. Place them in a small bowl and pour over 250ml boiling water. Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak for 10-15 minutes until soft. Scoop out the mushrooms and strain through a fine sieve, keeping the soaking liquid but discarding the gritty bit at the bottom of the bowl.
2 Next, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour, cayenne pepper and mustard. Stir for 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk. Add the strained mushroom soaking liquid and the stock. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens to a light sauce consistency. Stir in the parmesan and fontina and season well with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool while you prepare the mushrooms, giving the sauce an occasional stir to prevent a skin from forming.
3 Trim off the hard ends of the mushrooms and chop any large ones into smaller pieces. Heat a wide frying pan with the oil and add the onion and garlic. Sweat over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft. Toss in the reconstituted porcini and fresh mushrooms and fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Add a splash of Marsala and let the wine simmer for about 5 minutes until it has almost all evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat, mix with the sauce and stir in the chopped herbs.
4 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Spread about a third of the sauce mixture over the base of a lightly greased ovenproof dish, measuring about 25x25cm. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, followed by the mushroom mixture, then sprinkle over a layer of grated mozzarella. Repeat layering process twice, finishing with a layer of mushroom mixture. Top with any remaining cheese, and sprinkle over the grated parmesan.
5 Cover the dish with a piece of foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the topping is golden-brown and bubbling. Let the lasagne stand for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

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