My teenage sister is going through a crisis of conscience and is considering becoming vegetarian. I regularly cook vegetarian meals without even thinking about it because we get a weekly fruit and veg delivery so on average I substitute meat for veg about twice a week. In support of my sisters plight, we as a family have decided to go vegetarian for a week to help her make her decision.
Luckily for us my Dad was a vegetarian for 13 years (it was the bacon that turned him), so my Mum has quite a repertoire of vegetarian meals. The following recipe is for her vegetable lasagne which is firmly up there as one of our family favourites. We've even had meat lovers who reluctantly eat it go back for seconds, and thirds! Over the years she has whittled the recipe down so that it's quick, cheap, and still packed full of flavour.
Ingredients:
3 Tins of Ratatouille
1 Punnet of closed cup mushrooms
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
2-3 Courgettes
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of plain flour
1 large knob of butter (approx 2 tablespoons)
500ml semi-skimmed or whole milk (whichever you prefer)
60g pecorino cheese (10 for topping 50 for sauce)
200g Cream Cheese
40g Cheddar cheese or Emmental (30 for sauce 10 for topping)
1 heaped teaspoon of mustard (English)
1 pinch of nutmeg
250g lasagne sheets (we always keep dried in the house, but you can use fresh from the deli if you prefer)
125g Mozzarella (optional)
Method
- First prepare your veg by chopping the courgette, mushrooms and peppers.
- Get your Lasagne sheets ready to use (if you're using dried) by placing in a pan of simmering water for just a few minutes, then remove and set aside for later.
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan and add the chopped veg, at this point season with salt & pepper as desired.
- Once the vegetables have softened add the tins of ratatouille and bring to a slow simmer. Once it has been heated through and combined remove from the heat and set aside ready to fill the lasagne.
- Now onto the cheese sauce (please note that if you're really pushed for time my mum has been known to use 2 jars of shop bought cheese sauce and to add extra pecorino to it). Make a roux in a separate deep pan by slowly melting the butter, then add the flour and stir into a paste. (We normally do this by sight and don't usually measure exact amounts).
- Gradually add the milk to the roux over a low heat. Add slowly and stir constantly to avoid lumps. Once all is combined simmer softly and stir until the sauce is thick. If you're getting lumps then use a whisk.
- Stir in the cheeses that you have kept for the sauce and allow to melt and combine well. At this stage also stir in the mustard, cream cheese, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Now you have the filling and cheese sauce for your lasagne! Next get ready to layer, by gathering your sauces and lasagne dish and making sure your lasagne sheets are ready to go. If you have bought them fresh they can be used as they are, otherwise use your par-boiled sheets.
- Spoon enough of the vegetable filling to cover the bottom of the dish generously (making sure there will be enough for the other layers too). Follow this with your pasta sheets lined neatly over the filling. Next add a smooth coating of the cheese sauce so that all of the pasta is covered. Sprinkle with a little of the pecorino and repeat. Be sure to cover the pasta in sauce otherwise it will dry and become hard which spoils the lasagne.
- You should be able to get 3-4 layers with the amounts shown. Keep layering until you reach the top of the lasagne dish (but be careful not to over-fill, if it's looking pretty packed be sure to put something underneath it in the oven as it will spill). When you get to the top and final layer of cheese sauce sprinkle generously with the remaining pecorino and we like Emmental for its nuttiness. You can also add slices of mozzarella at this point too.
- When ready, bake in the oven at 180C for at lease 40 minutes or until the topping is browned.
- This should serve 6-8 people and we usually serve it with a good salad.
ENJOY!
(You may notice that this recipe doesn't include any garlic or herbs. The tinned ratatouille and generous amount of cheese should provide ample flavour, and my mum doesn't really like garlic so I've written the recipe as she makes it. If however, like me, you love garlic I would add it whilst softening your vegetables.)
[…] may remember my post about my sisters dilemma of whether to go vegetarian. Well she is now officially vegetarian! It’s surprising how much your outlook on food, […]