Vegetable lasagne is still the most popular vegetarian dish, but unfortunately it is often badly made, consisting of layers of lasagne with tinned tomatoes, onion and a few cubes of courgette in between. This is a more interesting lasagne recipe that uses chestnuts as the basis of the layered sauce.
Ingredients
For the lasagne filling
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 100g mushroooms, chopped
- ½ red pepper, finely diced
- ½ green pepper, finely diced
- 175g cooked chestnuts, mashed
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp fresh herbs, chopped
- A pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp red wine
- 6-8 spinach lasagne sheets
For the lasagne sauce
- 50g butter
- 50g plain white flour
- 450g milk
- 100g vegetarian Cheddar cheese, grated
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5. In a medium sized saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onion for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chopped mushrooms and peppers and sauté for several minutes.
- Stir in the mashed chestnuts, tomato purée and herbs. Add a little stock or red wine, but don’t make the mixture too runny. Season to taste and simmer for 2 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Put half the chestnut mixture in the bottom of a rectangular ovenproof dish. Cover with pieces of lasagne sheets, making sure they do not overlap. Repeat the layers.
- To make the cheese sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the milk gradually and stir until thickened. Remove from heat, season and add the cheese. Stir well.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the final layer of lasagne. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 to 45 minutes, until the lasagne has cooked and the sauce is golden brown on top.
