HEARTY VEGETABLE LASAGNA
Lasagna has been a staple of my family for as long as I can remember. It was my mums go to and it became my go also. When back from a long journey we would welcome family home with a comforting and hearty lasagna with salad and jacket potato.
We would generally make beef lasagna but as I got older and maybe a little wiser and certainly more adventurous in the kitchen, I decided that vegetarian lasagna should be on my repertoire also.
There are so many great variations of vegetarian lasagna and I still love coming across new and interesting ways of filling that delicious pasta and creamy sauce dish. The other day I saw a delicious looking option with white beans, pine nuts and greens.
My most frequented option is a ratatouille base for my vegetarian lasagna. It is filling, comforting and a great way of using up nearly gone vegetable from the fridge.
Ingredients
RATATOUILLE
2 red onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 aubergines
3 courgettes
3 red or yellow peppers
6 ripe tomatoes
½ a bunch of fresh basil , (15g)
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ a lemon
BECHAMEL - the amount of béchamel required varies from cook to cook. I like ALOT, my husband always makes a lot less.
75g Unsalted butter
75g Plain Flour
1 litre Whole milk approx
Salt (optional)
75g Hard Cheese (cheddar or parmesan preferable) grated
PASTA SHEETS
Barilla Egg Lasagna Sheets - approx 12
Method
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and lightly oil an ovenproof dish (about 30 x 20cm).
Prep your ingredients before you start – peel and cut the onions into wedges, then peel and finely slice the garlic. Trim the aubergines and courgettes, deseed the peppers and chop into 2.5cm chunks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Pick the basil leaves and set aside, then finely slice the stalks.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan or saucepan over a medium heat, add the chopped aubergines, courgettes and peppers (you may need to do this in batches) and fry for around 5 minutes, or until golden and softened, but not cooked through. Spoon the cooked veg into a large bowl.
To the pan, add the onion, garlic, basil stalks and thyme leaves with another drizzle of oil, if needed. Fry for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened and golden.
Return the cooked veg to the pan and stir in the fresh and tinned tomatoes, the balsamic and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
Mix well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until reduced, sticky and sweet
Leave the ratatouille to cool, it will thicken a bit as it cools and the flavours will infuse and develop.
Make you béchamel. I have found that using a cheddar or parmesan is preferable as your hard cheese. They are both appropriately salty, adding a good flavour and they also both melt well into the white sauce without becoming sticky and stringy. But ultimately you can choose whichever hard cheese takes your fancy. I have been know to use Beaufort or Compte, but I actually prefer cheddar.
In a large saucepan melt the butter over low heat.
Sprinkle the flour on top.
Mix with a wooden spoon to create a light colored roux. It will look like thick paste. Cook the roux, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not burn!
Take the pan off the heat. Add 1/2 cup of milk and whisk thoroughly to break up the lumps. You can use a wooden spoon for this but it is MUCH more of a work out and quite tricky to work out the lumps, which you need to do.
Keep whisking until the mixture looks creamy.
Slowly add the rest of the milk, whisking continuously as you pour. Add the milk gradually, allowing for it to slightly thicken dn combine well after every addition.
Return the pan to the heat. Adjust to medium-low. Cook, whisking often, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of thick cream. Lower the heat as needed during the cooking process. Do not walk away! The sauce will catch on the bottom and burn!It will get lumpy!
When the béchamel sauce is finished, it should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Drag your finger down the center of the spoon to double check the consistency. Add your created cheese and mix well.
To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked lasagna sheets in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon a third of the cheese mixture over the pasta sheets. Spread evenly. Spoon a little less than half the sauce mixture over the top. Top with pasta sheets, cover again with some cheese sauce then more vegetables. Then layer your last layer of pasta sheets. Cover with cheese sauce and spread evenly (I like a thick layer), grate some cheese of top and a cracking of black pepper.
Pop into a hot over for approx 45 minutes. Middle to top shelf. Poke through with a sharp knife to see if the knife goes through the pasta sheet easily, this will tell you whether it has cooked through. You will also want the top to be golden brown and a little bubbly.
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