Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Lasagna is my all time favourite meal. It's so comforting, rich and homely, but it's also quite tricky to get right. I have had many a cheese sauce end up in the bin as it’s too thin or too lumpy! Through trial and error, I finally have a method that works for me.
As a vegetarian, I find that quorn mince works really well in lasagnas. However, I actually prefer to use roasted vegetables. The texture is great and there’s so much flavour, plus you’re packing in some more vitamins.
My top tips are to include the red wine (if you have some) as it really brings out the flavour of the lasagna, and to be patient with the cheese sauce, make sure to add the milk really gradually.
Ingredients
8 Gluten free lasagna sheets
2 courgettes
2 large peppers
50g spinach
1 red onion
1 clove garlic
400g can chopped tomatoes
250g passata
Red wine (optional)
Salt and pepper to season
Dried basil or mixed herbs
For the cheese sauce:
25g butter
25g gluten free plain flour (I use doves farm)
600 ml (1 pint) milk
170g grated cheddar cheese
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180⁰C.
Chop the courgette and pepper into bitesize chunks. Spread out on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until softened.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Dice the onion and add to a large saucepan with a splash of vegetable oil (top tip: vegetable oil is just rapeseed oil, which is the healthiest kind!). Fry on a medium heat until the onion begins to brown (around 5 minutes).
Crush the garlic clove and add to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Add the can of chopped tomatoes, the passata and a generous splash of red wine (if using) to the pan. Stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and herbs. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring in the vegetables when they’re ready.
Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter. Add in the flour and some black pepper, combine and cook on a medium heat for 1 minute.
Turn the hob down slightly to a medium-low heat. Add the milk gradually (if added all at once it will be difficult to get the sauce to thicken). Each time you add milk, whisk the sauce continually until it thickens before adding more milk. Don’t be tempted to add more flour once you have begun to add milk; this will make the sauce lumpy.
Once all of the milk is added and the sauce has thickened, add most of the cheddar cheese (leaving some for the top of the lasagna) and stir until smooth and combined.
Bring a separate pan of water to the boil. Add the pasta sheets 2 or 3 at a time and criss cross them in the pan to avoid them sticking together. Boil for 2 minutes to soften. They will not be completely cooked.
Take an oven dish and begin to layer your lasagna. Add a layer of the vegetable sauce mix, a layer of 4 lasagna sheets and then a layer of half of the cheese sauce. Repeat.
Sprinkle the rest of your cheese on top.
Place in the oven and cook for 35 minutes.
Enjoy!x
If you’re on Instagram don’t forget to tag me @the.gfg to show me your creations
