Veg Lasagne

Prep Time: 0:25
Cook Time: 0:45
Serves: 4

Ingredients / Shopping List

9 strips lasagne

400ml milk

30g flour

30g margarine

½  tsp dry English mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

20g mature cheddar

400g tin kidney beans

1 large red onion

2 sticks celery

I onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tblsp corn oil

40g tomato puree

400g tin plum tomatoes

Bunch fresh basil

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g mature cheddar

150ml vegetable stock

Prep to Cook: Deep oblong lasagne dish, small saucepan, whisk, spatula, medium saucepan, wooden spoon, chopping board, vegetable knife. Pre-heat oven 190ºC or Gas 5

Prep the vegetable layer:

Peel, slice and dice the onion.

Peel and grate the garlic on a small grater

Open the tin of tomatoes and mix in the tomato puree

Fry the onions and garlic with the tablespoon of oil until just browning

Add the drained tinned beans

Stir in the tomatoes, ripped basil leaves, teaspoon dried oregano and salt and pepper.

Cook for 5 minutes on the hob or put into a microwave dish and simmer for 2 minutes in the microwave.

Prep the sauce:

In a saucepan using the all-in-one method, add the flour, margarine and milk  

Whisk until the mixture boils and thickens

Stir in the mustard and the mayonnaise and 20g grated cheese.

Create the Vegetable Lasagne: 

Grease the dish base and sides

Place layer of lasagne to cover the base

Spoon over half the hot vegetable mixture and top this with more lasagne

Add the remaining vegetable mix and top with the final 3 pieces of lasagne

Cover this with the white flavoured sauce

Top with grated cheddar and cook in the oven for 45 minutes

Check it out!

Vegetable Lasagne is affordable and nourishing.   It uses some store cupboard ingredients and can also use up left over vegetables. It will freeze for use later.

Recipe Science

Cooks Know How:  Vegetable Lasagne is a pasta based meal that is ready-to-eat.  You prepare three parts, the lasagne, flat rolled pasta; the vegetable part and the white sauce topping.  Bought fresh or dried pasta can be used depending upon availability and price restraints.   The vegetable layer can include any vegetables you have that are left over from other cooking.  Pulses such as the kidney beans give texture to the mixture and support the layers of pasta well.  The tomato base needs to be well flavoured with the herbs, oregano and basil and enriched with tomato puree.

The white sauce is flavoured, rather like a Bechamel, so that the cheese does not dominate too strongly.  It covers the top layer of pasta to keep it soft during cooking and adds juiciness to the dish that makes it easy to eat. 

This dish demonstrates the skills of vegetable cookery, sauce-making and pasta cooking.  The use of the oven allows all the flavours to bake together whist the pasta absorbs the flavoursome juices and softens, as the starch gels.  On the surface the sprinkled cheese melts and browns.  The resulting pasta dish is easy to portion and almost a complete meal in itself. 

When considering the production of the dish it is one that lends itself to manufacture in bulk, making two takes relatively little more time than making one.  The dish freezes beautifully, thaws and re-heats easily.  Nutritionally vegetable lasagne provides a well balanced, low fat meal of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins all in one serving.