I thought it
was time to share a recipe that wasn’t cake or soup! So, here is a vegetarian lasagna recipe I
created. You can use whatever vegetables
you like for this recipe. As a guide,
however, I have listed what I used when I made it. This dish takes about 2 hours to make from
beginning to serving. It is perfect for
a weekend dinner when you have a bit more time and it lasts very well in the
fridge for leftovers during the week (if there are any!).
What you
will need
Approximately
300gm lasagna sheets (homemade or fresh is always better, but I am using dried
today).
Napoli Sauce
Olive oil
1 onion
1 – 2 cloves of
crushed garlic
700gm passata
(or 2 tins diced tomatoes)
1 tablespoon
tomato paste
½ cup water
Vegetables
¼ of a
butternut pumpkin
1 sweet potato
2 medium sized
mushrooms
1 zucchini
1 eggplant
2 good handfuls
of baby spinach
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
to taste
Béchamel Sauce
4 cups milk
4 tablespoons
plain flour
80gm butter
¾ cup of grated
parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon
nutmeg
salt and pepper
to taste
Extra parmesan
and some mozzarella to grate on top of lasagna
How to make
it
Vegetables
I recommend you
prepare the vegetables first because they take the longest.
Slice your
vegetables and lay on oven trays. For
sweet potato and pumpkin, peel these first.
Drizzle olive
oil over the vegetables, along with some salt and pepper. Place in 180-200 degree oven. You can pretty much leave these to cook now,
but I recommend keeping an eye on them every 10mins and flip them over to ensure
they cook evenly and don’t stick to your tray.
They should
take around 30 – 40mins.
Napoli sauce
While your
vegetables are cooking, prepare the napoli sauce.
Heat a good
drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and lightly browned.
Add passata and
tomato paste. I also add ¼ cup of water
to the empty passata jar, replace the lid, shake and then add to the sauce.
Stir and add salt and pepper. Leave to simmer on a low heat, stirring
occasionally (at least 20mins so the sauce thickens and reduces).
Béchamel sauce
In a medium
sized saucepan on low heat, melt the butter.
Add the flour
and whisk until combined to a paste.
Add a cup of
milk at a time, whisking each cup in.
Once the milk
is all added, whisk occasionally until the sauce thickens.
Add parmesan,
salt, pepper and nutmeg. Continue to
whisk until the cheese has melted.
Turn off heat.
Putting it
all together
To “build” the
lasagna, I start with a layer of sweet potato and cover it with Napoli
sauce. Then add lasagna sheets to cover.
Then add a layer of béchamel sauce and a
layer of another vegetable, then pasta.
Continue in this order so you finish with béchamel on the top.
You should get about 4 layers of Napoli so
try to divide it into 4 when you are using it.
Finish the top of
the lasagna with grated parmesan, mozzarella, salt and pepper.
Put the lasagna
in 180 oven for approximately 30 - 40mins or until the top is golden and the
pasta feels cooked when you insert a knife into it.
You can pre-make this dish and just re-heat it in the oven (covered with foil).
Delicious
served with an leafy salad (with fresh Italian herbs such as parsley, basil and
oregano).
Enjoy!
Spoon mixture
into a pre-prepared muffin tray or tall cup cake patty pans for a prettier
look!
