Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne
Roasted mediterranean vegetable lasagne.
Roasted mediterranean vegetable lasagne is a wonderful, healthy meal, making it from scratch is easy and cheaper than buying a ready made version. You know just what has gone into your dish, so it is easy to keep it as low, or high, calorie as you want it to be.
I have used semi skimmed milk and low fat spread in this recipe, you can also use a low fat cheese - making it even lower in calories. However you make it you can be sure it will be high in taste.
I usually serve this dish with a nice tossed green salad and a couple of slices of garlic bread - naughty but nice! Once cold this lasagne can be stored in the fridge for two days and will warm up very well in a low oven or the microwave. It can also be frozen, leave it to cool, cover tightly with cling film and freeze on the day you make it, it will then keep for three months in the freezer. Take it out the night before you want it and let it defrost slowly.
I often batch cook this lasagne, making one to have fresh and a couple to freeze for later. This saves time and energy as you only need to heat the oven once.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 1/2tbls olive oil
- 120g mushrooms, quartered
- 2x large white onions, cut into chunks
- 2x medium or 1 large courgette, cut into chunks
- 4 small or two large sweet chilli peppers, cut into chunks
- 1 large or 2 small Aubergine (egg plants), cut into chunks
- 1 jar or can passata
- 650g semi skimmed milk
- 100g hard cheese such as cheddar, grated
- 50g low fat spread
- 50g flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 cloves garlic, optional
- 1tsp english mustard, optional
- 1x packet lasagne sheets
How to make your lasagne.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based saucepan, add the sliced onions and fry gently for five minutes.
- Stir in the peppers, courgette, aubergine and garlic if used. Cook for ten minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and the passata, stir well, transfer to an oven dish and cook for a further ten minutes at 190c. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste before roasting.
- Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Place the flour, spread, milk and the mustard, if you are using it, into a saucepan, over a moderate heat and cook, stirring the whole time. Don't leave the sauce at this stage as it will thicken very quickly and it is easy to ruin it.
- When the sauce starts to thicken,lower the heat and continue to stir for a further one minute, remove from the heat and stir in half of the grated cheese. Check the seasoning at this stage and if needed add a little salt and pepper. Remember, that the cheese will be quite salty so don't over do the salt.
- In a lasagne dish place a layer of the vegetable mixture, then a layer of cheese sauce and then a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat, ending with a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake in a moderate oven (190c) for fifty minutes.
- When cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving, this will make it a lot easier to cut a tidy slice.
Variations. Why not make it vegan friendly.
You can make this dish using just about any vegetables that you have in the store cupboard or fridge.
It can be made using Quorn or your favourite veggie mince, add sliced onions, sliced mushrooms and tomatoes to make it more like a meat lasagne.
I have even made it using butternut squash and curry sauce, it works really well.
You can make this dish vegan friendly by using vegan spread, soya milk and leaving out the cheese.
Or making it with vegan cheese, but I have found that vegan cheese doesn't really cook all that well so I prefer to leave it out and just eat it cold.
If I am making a vegan sauce I add a little more mustard and a few chopped herbs. A spoonful of wholegrain mustard goes really well, it adds taste and texture.
You have to be careful when you are using a vegan spread, as it can separate during cooking, keep the heat a little lower and don't take your eyes off the sauce as it cooks.
This vegetarian lasagne is healthy and filling and very easy to make from scratch, give it a try and let me know what you think of it.
© 2012 Galaxy Harvey
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