Mushroom Lasagne

1 x 10g pack dried porcini mushrooms
740g (1 Ib 10oz) chestnut mushrooms
200g (7oz) lasagne (the no-need-to-precook kind)
1 x 142ml carton whipping cream
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
thick slice of butter
good handful chopped fresh parsley leaves
4-5 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan, plus further 3 for later
725ml (1'/4 pints) bechamel sauce
(ready-made fine, or make up a sauce using 725ml/1'/4 pints cold milk)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the basil sauce
60g (2 1/2 oz) pine kernels
50g (2oz) fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
enough olive oil to make a thick, spoonable paste
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

Heat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4.

Set the onions and garlic to cook in a deep frying pan with the slice of butter. Cover the dried porcini with warm water - barely 100ml (3 ½ fl oz) and leave to soak. After 20 minutes, the and garlic will have softened and taken on an almost translucent quality. Meanwhile, cut the fresh mushrooms into thick slices.
Then, either blitz the pine kernals, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil and parmesan in a food processor, or do it the hard way by pounding the garlic with a little salt in a mortar, then mashing in the basil, pine kernels, parmesan an olive oil to make a rough and slightly sloppy paste.
Stir the sliced fresh mushrooms into the onions and garlic and partially cover with a lid. The mushrooms should colour and soften. Add the reconstituted porcini and their soaking water, then the parsley, the 4-5 tablespoons of parmesan and the cream. Season with salt and ground black pepper and simmer and stir until the cream has thickened somewhat. Spread a few spoonfuls of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of a 40cm (16in) x 6cm (2 1/2in) deep oval ovenproof dish then cover with a single layer of the pasta. Spoon on half of the mushroom filling, cover with another layer of pasta, a second layer of mushrooms and cream and top with a third single layer of pasta. Spread the basil sauce over the pasta then smooth the remaining bechamel sauce over and cover with the remaining parmesan. Bake for 40- 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.