I love cooking from scratch…. if not entirely from scratch, then as much of the dish as possible.

We all take shortcuts from time to time, and the one shortcut in this recipe is the pasta. Making pasta from scratch is on my ‘to-learn’ list.

This doesn’t detract from what is a great dish! Tasty and simple, a winning combination in my book. I don’t do a bechamel sauce with this dish as I find just a simple cheese sauce works well.

The Hubby commented that it tasted ‘fresh’ which I think is a compliment? And the fridge smelt heavenly whilst it was waiting to be baked.

Vegetable Lasagne – Serves 4

Ingredients:

Ragu/Sauce

3 x Large Tomatoes ( I use vine toms)

1 x Onion

2 x Cloves of Garlic

1 x Heaped Tablespoon of Tomato Puree

Salt, Sugar, Dried Basil, Black Pepper and Balsamic Vinegar to season

(You can of course take a shortcut here and buy ready-made red sauce)

White/Cheese sauce

3/4 Pint of Milk

4 Tablespoons of Cornflour plus an additional 4 Tablespoons of Milk

100g/3.5oz Grated Hard Cheese to your liking (I use Cheddar)

Other ingredients

2 x Peppers

1 x Courgette/Zucchini

1 x Red Onion (you may only need half depending on size – mine was big!)

6 x Large Mushrooms (washed and/or peeled)

Dry Pasta Sheets/Noodles (or if you are very clever your own hand-made pasta )

Step One

Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan adding a little oil if desired.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and onion

Add to the pan the toms, onion, crushed garlic a pinch or two of salt, approx. half a teaspoon of sugar (I use brown), a few splashes of balsamic vinegar and a good shake all over the pan of dried basil.

Leave on a moderate heat whilst you prep the rest of the lasagne, ensuring all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and that they aren’t sticking to the pan. Remember to give it a stir a couple of times whilst you prep the other veg.

Step two

Dice the courgette, peppers, mushrooms and red onion.

Layer the bottom of the lasagne dish with half of the vegetables

Then add half of the ragu/sauce from the hob

Step 3

Warm 3/4 pint of milk in a glass/pyrex jug in the microwave for 3 minutes on high.

Whilst warming, in a separate cup mix together 4 tablespoons of cornflour and 4 tablespoons of cold milk until a paste.

Remove the warm milk from the microwave. Pour in the paste and 3/4 of grated cheese (keeping 1/4 back to sprinkle on the top of the lasagne).

Stir well. Then heat for a further 90 seconds (and up to 2 minutes). Remove sauce from the microwave and stir well. Leave to stand and thicken.

Step 4

Place the pasta sheets over the bottom layer of vegetables until covered.

Pour over half of the cheese sauce and spread evenly.

Step 5

Repeat another layer of chopped vegetables and add the remaining tomato sauce. Cover with pasta sheets once more and pour over the remaining cheese sauce. Spread evenly.

Step 6

Sprinkle over the leftover grated cheese.  Add a grind or 2 of black pepper and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Step 7

To cook, preheat an oven to a moderate-high heat. This is approx. 180C/360F in an electric oven. Cook for 35-40 minutes. Then serve immediately.

The cooked lasagne can then be kept in the fridge for up to 48 hours and reheated. Ensure all food is piping hot before serving when reheating.

I’d love to hear how you do a veggie lasagne…any suggestions on how to improve or adapt this recipe are very welcome. Please share!

** Please note that I am not a qualified nutritionist or professional cook.  My recipes are what I put together at home and all amounts etc… are approximate. What I write is my own experience of cooking the recipe.  Ovens and ingredients do vary – just go with it,  have fun and apply common sense at all times!  Practise makes perfect!

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