Mary Berry’s Lasagne dinner party menu

Garlic Portabella Mushrooms

Large whole mushrooms with a chopped mushroom and bacon topping and a garlic cream sauce, these make a popular first course. They’re also very good served with steaks.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
100g (4oz) bacon lardons or streaky bacon, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil     
4 large Portabella mushrooms, stalks removed
300ml (1/2 pint) double cream
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g (9oz) small chestnut mushrooms, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method
Fry the bacon in a non-stick frying pan until golden brown and crisp, lift out and keep warm.

Heat the oil in the same pan and brown the Portabella mushrooms on both sides for a few minutes. Set aside and keep them warm.

Add the double cream and garlic to the unwashed frying pan, and reduce over a high heat until thickened, stirring all the time.

Drop the chestnut mushrooms into the thickened cream and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange a Portabella mushroom in the centre of each plate (gill-side up), and spoon over the cream mixture. Sprinkle with the bacon and parsley.

Preparing ahead
As the mushrooms are so fast to prepare and cook, it’s best to make and cook them just before serving.

Lasagne Al Forno with Spinach

This is a real change from the classic lasagne and so much quicker to make – no béchamel sauce, just crème fraiche, and the tomato sauce is not cooked first. You’ll think you haven’t enough sauce for three layers but there is – don’t mix the two together in layers, blob them on top at random.

If I use dried pasta I always try to make this ahead of time in the morning or the night before – this gives time for the sauces to soften the pasta before cooking. 

Ingredients
(Serves 6)
Ragu and Spinach Sauce
1 tbsp oil
450g (1lb) pork sausage meat
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, crushed
150g (5oz) button mushrooms, sliced
1x 200ml carton full fat creme fraiche
100g (4oz) baby spinach, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

Tomato and Thyme Sauce
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
1 tsp Demerara sugar
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

6 sheets, about 75g (3oz) quick cook white lasagne or fresh lasagne
50g (2oz) strong cheddar cheese, grated

You will need and ovenproof dish about 1.2 litres (2 pints) capacity 23cm x 28cm x 5cm (9” x 11” x 2”)

Method
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan on the boiling plate; add the sausage meat and brown until golden, breaking up the mince with two wooden spoons.

Add the chilli, garlic and mushrooms and fry for a few minutes. Stir in crème
fraiche and spinach. Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes, season well and set aside.

To make the tomato sauce, measure all the ingredients into a jug and season well.

Divide the ragu sauce into three and spoon one third into the base of the dish. Spoon one third of the tomato sauce on top, at random and arrange half of the pasta sheets over the tomato sauce. Repeat using two more layers of ragu and tomato sauce and one of pasta. Sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Slide onto the third set of runners in the roasting oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown, bubbling around the edges and the pasta is tender. 

Serve piping hot with a dressed green salad.

Conventional oven
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6/180°C fan.  Bake in a preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown, bubbling around the edges and the pasta is tender.

Tiramasu Revisited

A wonderful Italian trifle - Tiramasu actually means “pick me up” in Italian. This is a really quick one using no raw eggs.

Ingredients
(Serves 6-8)
1 generous teaspoon instant coffee
4fl oz boiling water
3fl oz brandy
25g (1oz) caster sugar
250g (9oz) tub mascarpone cheese
1 x 500g tub or carton of good quality custard
1 packet trifle sponges
75g (3oz) coarsely grated or chopped plain chocolate

Method
Dissolve the coffee in the water and mix with the brandy.

Whisk the mascarpone, then whisk in the custard.

Split the sponge cakes horizontally and line a fairly shallow glass dish, about 9” (23cm), with half of them. With a pastry brush, brush over half the coffee and brandy liquid. Spoon over half of the mascarpone mixture and sprinkle over half the chocolate. 

Arrange a second layer of sponge and soak with the remaining coffee and brandy liquid. Spoon over the remaining mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with the rest of the chocolate. 

Chill the Tiramasu for up to a few hours before serving.

Preparing ahead
This can be made up to 48 hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge. It will also make 8 individual Tiramasus in small wine glasses which take longer to assemble but look good and are easy to serve as part of a buffet.