Vincigrassi

Slofoodgroup Team September 15, 2021

Italian Mushroom Vincigrassi

Vincigrassi is a popular eastern Italian dish and is very similar to lasagna al forno. Although meat is traditionally incorporated into the sauce, we ditched the classic ragu for a delicious mushroom sauce using our dried porcini as the star ingredient. We added prosciutto for an extra kick of flavor and wrapped it up beautifully in homemade truffle oil. 

The origins of Vincigrassi can be traced back to the 18th century. Although earlier mentions of the recipe exist, the dish became popular in 1799 when it was cooked to celebrate the defeat of the Napoleonic troops in the region.

 How to make Vincigrassi from scratch:

Ingredients

For Reconstituting the Porcinis:

For the Truffle Oil:

For the Mushroom Sauce:

For the Assembly:

Procedure

1. Start by soaking the dried porcini mushrooms and the truffle oil. Add the mushrooms to a heat-proof container. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and pour it over the dried porcini mushrooms. Allow to soak in for 15-20 minutes. Scoop the mushrooms out and save the stock. Roughly chop the mushrooms and set them aside.
2. While the mushrooms are soaking, prepare the truffle oil. Thinly slice 1 black truffle and add it to a jar. Add 1 cup of olive oil on top and mix well. Allow infusing for 30 min.
3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the soaked mushrooms and bay leaf and cook for few minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and garlic and cook until soft. Add the flour in and stir to coat the mushrooms. Gradually incorporate the chicken-mushroom stock while stirring constantly to avoid flour lumps. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until it thickens.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat, fish out the bay leaf, and stir in the cream, prosciutto, and parsley. Allow cooling for 15 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 360F/180C. Grease a rectangular casserole dish with butter and cover the bottom with a layer of lasagna sheets. Add 1/3 of the mushroom sauce on top, sprinkle 1/3 of the grated parmesan cheese, and a healthy drizzle of truffle oil. Repeat three times.
6. Bake at 360F/180C for 202-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly on top. Allow to slightly cool before slicing. Serve with extra parmesan shavings and truffle oil on top.