Patience rewards the cook. This recipe, passed on from a friend, is a delicious vegetarian lasagna which takes a little extra time to prepare. I have made veggie lasagnas with lentil bolognese, heavy, canellini beans, equally heavy, mushrooms with lots of cheese, rich but good, and none of them really compete with the proper Italian version. We have also tried Delia's roast veg one which I think is mildly unpleasant.
This recipe requires several different vegetables to be prepared separately with different seasonings and also uses shop bought pasta sauce. So it doesn't come under my standard headings of either cheap or quick. But it is worth it. You can vary the veg and the seasonings - in fact I did when I tried it out and have commented here on those changes. It makes 8 generous portions, so you can make two at once if that suits you, freezes cooked or uncooked and like all lasagnas, is an assembly job so it can be prepared well in advance. It would be perfect for a party. Thank you Jan!
Roast Vegetable Lasagna
This recipe requires several different vegetables to be prepared separately with different seasonings and also uses shop bought pasta sauce. So it doesn't come under my standard headings of either cheap or quick. But it is worth it. You can vary the veg and the seasonings - in fact I did when I tried it out and have commented here on those changes. It makes 8 generous portions, so you can make two at once if that suits you, freezes cooked or uncooked and like all lasagnas, is an assembly job so it can be prepared well in advance. It would be perfect for a party. Thank you Jan!
Roast Vegetable Lasagna
Shallow oven dish, at least 24cm x 34cm or 2 smaller ones
Lasagna sheets.
Vegetables - can be varied:
1 large aubergine chopped. If you salt it until it starts to weep, rinse and dry it, the aubergine will soften more easily. But this is not essential.
2 medium courgettes chopped to roughly the same size as the aubergine.
2/3 peppers, any colour sliced
3/4 large tomatoes halved or quartered
1 fennel thinly sliced
3 onions, red or white very thinly sliced
100/150g mushrooms chopped
Spinach - optional
Seasonings:
Sacla pasta sauce - olive and tomato - 1 or 2 jars
Pesto - red or green- optional
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Rosemary and basil
Cheddar and parmesan
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Cheese sauce with Parsley
2 oz/40g butter
2 oz/40g pl flour
3/4 pint milk
1/2 large carton plain yogurt
2 oz/50 g cheese, strong cheddar and parmesan mixed
Chopped parsley
Lasagna sheets.
Vegetables - can be varied:
1 large aubergine chopped. If you salt it until it starts to weep, rinse and dry it, the aubergine will soften more easily. But this is not essential.
2 medium courgettes chopped to roughly the same size as the aubergine.
2/3 peppers, any colour sliced
3/4 large tomatoes halved or quartered
1 fennel thinly sliced
3 onions, red or white very thinly sliced
100/150g mushrooms chopped
Spinach - optional
Seasonings:
Sacla pasta sauce - olive and tomato - 1 or 2 jars
Pesto - red or green- optional
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Rosemary and basil
Cheddar and parmesan
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Cheese sauce with Parsley
2 oz/40g butter
2 oz/40g pl flour
3/4 pint milk
1/2 large carton plain yogurt
2 oz/50 g cheese, strong cheddar and parmesan mixed
Chopped parsley
- Heat the oven to at least No 6/7 - 200 plus.
- Roast the aubergine and courgettes till soft and browning, with olive oil, salt, a good splash of balsamic vinegar and sesame seeds (optional).
- Roast the sliced peppers till soft and browning, with oil, black pepper and rosemary. Add the tomatoes to this tray when the peppers are nearly done.
- Saute the sliced fennel and onions slowly till they caramelise.
- Fry the chopped mushrooms with garlic.
- Mix all the cooked veg together in a large bowl.
- Add 1 or 2 jars of Sacla pasta paste, whichever flavour you like. My friend uses 2 jars - I found that too strong and would only buy one.
- Taste for salt and pepper.
- Stir in 2 teaspoons of red or green pesto or more if you like it.
- Check that the mixture is quite sloppy as it needs to be wet to cook the lasagna sheets. If you have only added one jar of Sacla sauce,and it seems dry, add a tin of chopped tomatoes plus a little water.
- Taste again.
- Make a thick white sauce as usual, adding the yogurt when it is ready, season with Salt and Pepper, then mix in the cheese and parsley.
- Now layer up in a dish, starting with the vegetables, then the pasta sheets, then the sauce and finishing with sauce. Put some raw chopped spinach in if you like, adding basil to this.
- Sprinkle on extra parmesan and some sunflower seeds.
Oven at No 6/200
Cook for 45 minutes or until brown and bubbling.
Serve with a green salad.
Comments