When Chef of the Year Desirée Jaks presented Dish of the Year earlier this year, she declared that mussels in an open lasagna were her base. The accessories for the dish would then be varied according to the season. Welcome to the autumn interpretation – where mushrooms in the form of freshly picked chanterelles and fresh corn accompany.

OPEN LASAGNE WITH MUSSELS
4 servings | 60 minutes
Ingredients
200 g fresh lasagna sheets
½ lemon (juice + zest)
rapeseed oil for frying
Blue mussels & blue mussel sauce
1 kg fresh mussels in a net,
Swedish repo cultured
1 yellow onion
1 fennel
1 jalapeno
1 clove of garlic
2 dl white wine
2 cups water
4 dl whipping cream
1 tbsp butter
Gremolata
1 pot of curly parsley
1 dl rapeseed oil
1 clove of garlic
Croutons
4 cups day-old bread or baguette
(picked into small pieces)
2 tablespoons butter
Filling
100 g baby spinach
50 g aged parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
salt and black pepper
Accessories
1 fresh corn cob (cut from the cob)
160 g chanterelles (trimmed and divided)
Cooking

1. Rinse the mussels under cold water until the water runs completely clear.
2. Clean the blue mussels from beards and sort out damaged mussels.
3. Peel and finely chop the onion, fennel, jalapeño and garlic.
4. Sweat 1/3 of the vegetables in a large saucepan. Save the rest of the vegetables for the filling.
5. Pour in the wine and reduce by half. Then add the water and bring to a boil.
6. Add the mussels and cook, covered, for about 2–3 minutes until they open. Lift the mussels out with a slotted spoon and keep the broth in the saucepan. Discard any that have not opened.
7. Remove the mussels from their shells and store them in the refrigerator until serving.
8. Reduce the mussel broth to about 2 dl.
9. Boil the cream in a separate saucepan until 3 dl remains.
10. Strain the mussel broth into the cream saucepan and bring the sauce to a boil. Blend in the butter with a hand blender.
11. Season with salt and lemon. Gremolata
12. Coarsely chop the parsley.
13. Pour the rapeseed oil into a bowl.
14. Grate the garlic.
15. Then blend the parsley with a hand blender. Add a little parsley at a time.
16. Season with salt, lemon juice and zest. Croutons
17. Heat a frying pan with oil and butter.
18. Add the bread and fry, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until golden and crispy.
19. Salt and let cool on kitchen paper.
20. Dry and keep the same frying pan. When serving
21. Heat a frying pan and sauté the rest of the chopped vegetables in butter for about 2 minutes.
22. Add spinach and corn, sauté for another 1 minute and season with salt and lemon.
23. In a separate pan, fry the chanterelles in butter and then add the picked mussels. Heat gently and add 4 tablespoons of gremolata. Season with salt.
24. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until tender, about 2–3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on an oiled baking sheet.
25. Build the dish in deep plates: start with a lasagna sheet, spread the spinach mixture, add another lasagna sheet, sprinkle generously with cheese and top with the mussel mixture. Finish with sauce that you lightly foam with a hand blender, dress with gremolata.
    Serve and enjoy!