This is adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, but I replaced with Julia Child béchamel because I can never get it to thicken properly the per Marcella's instructions
2 oz dried porcini
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
3-4 whole Italian tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 -3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
1.5 lbs large white or cremini mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
11 De Cecco Lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, almost at a boil
salt and pepper
.75 lbs ham, thinly sliced into strips (just used sliced ham "off the bone" and subsequently julienned)
Add dried mushrooms to 2 cups of warm water. Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes. Carefully remove mushrooms and squeeze out excess water and grit. Pour soaking water through a cheesecloth or paper towel lined wire strainer and set aside. Roughly chop mushrooms.
In a large sautee pan, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, stirring regularly. Add chopped reconstituted mushrooms, tomatoes, parsley and mushroom soaking water. I boiled down rapidly because I'm inpatient, but you're supposed to gently simmer off liquid. Add fresh mushrooms and pepper turn up the heat to medium high and stir regularly. The mushrooms will release liquid. Cook until liquid is absorbed again and mixture is generally dry. Taste and correct for seasoning. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook lasagna noodles for 4 minutes leaving slightly al dente. Drain and set aside on cloth towels to prevent sticking.
Preheat oven to 400F. Make the béchamel. In a sauce pan melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, bring heat to low and whisk in flour with no coloring. Pour in almost boiling milk all at once and whisk rapidly. Turn up heat, let boil, all while whisking, then turn back to simmer. Add salt.
Assembly lasagne in an 8x8 dish. Cover bottom with a thin layer of béchamel, then add layer of noodles, scatter with a layer of mushrooms, using about 1/4 of the mushrooms. Top with a quarter of the ham, then 1/5 of the béchamel. Top with another layer of noodles. Do 3 more layers like this. The last layer should end with three noodles, then the last of the bechamel.
Bake for 15 minutes covered with lid, remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
