Lasagna

Serves:
12 to 20 servings
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
3 pound of ground meat
4 (25-ounce) jars tomato sauce 
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup minced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound mushroom caps, sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows
30 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups grated Fontina
3 cups grated mozzarella
3 pounds lasagna sheets (1-ounce per sheet)
5 cups grated Parmesan
Bolognese Sauce, recipe follows
Set a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan and once the oil is hot, crumble the sausage into the pan. Cook the sausage, stirring often until well browned on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce to the pan and allow the sauce to simmer, for 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and season with the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and have given off their liquid, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.
In a bowl, combine the 2 cups of the Bechamel sauce, the ricotta, Fontina, and mozzarella cheeses. Set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 15 1/2 by 11 1/2 by 4-inch roasting pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Ladle 4 cups of the meat-tomato sauce into the bottom of the pan. Lay 6 lasagna sheets across the top of the tomato sauce. Spread 1/2 of the spinach and half of the mushrooms over the top of the pasta, and pour 3 cups of the Parmesan Bechamel over the mushrooms and spinach. Sprinkle 1 cup of the Parmesan over the bechamel, as well as 1/2 the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with another layer of 6 lasagna sheets. Place 1/2 of the meat tomato over the lasagna and top with another layer of pasta. Pour another 4 cups of the tomato sausage sauce over the pasta, and top with another layer of pasta. Spread the remaining spinach, mushrooms and bechamel over the pasta and sprinkle another cup of Parmesan over top. Top with the remaining ricotta cheese mixture and lay another row of pasta over the cheese mixture. Spread the remaining meat tomato sauce over the pasta and top with another row of pasta sheets. Pour the remaining meat tomatos sauce over the pasta.
Wrap the top of the roasting pan with aluminum foil and set the roasting pan on a baking sheet. Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pasta sheets are cooked through. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and remove and discard the aluminum foil. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top of the tomato sauce, and return the pan to the oven. Bake until the cheese is well browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow lasagna to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Parmesan Bechamel Sauce:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg optional
2 cups grated Parmesan
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, to make a light roux, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until thickened, 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Parmesan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the bechamel until ready to assemble the lasagna.
Yield: about 2 quarts