Lasagne is a perfect combination of nutrition and taste, especially if made with lots of vegetables. The problem is that the real version can be a lot of work, and the ready meal or kit versions don’t taste the same. What is a time-poor lasagne lover to do?
Here’s a short-cut veggie version that doesn’t lose taste and doesn’t need processed sauces.
Melted mozzarella and ricotta replaces the white sauce, and the rest needs only one pan. With pre-cooked lasagne this can be prepared in about fifteen minutes, and after baking will be on the table within the hour. Leftovers can be frozen for home-made ready meals.
Meat-eaters can add mince at stage 2, just brown it before adding the veg.
INGREDIENTS
Pack of pre-cooked lasagne sheets
1 onion
2 large courgettes
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
400g mushrooms
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
400g ricotta cheese
400g mozzarella cheese, chopped
2 eggs
Tomato paste
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil
METHOD
- Get ready: peel and chop the onion, deseed and chop the peppers, slice the courgettes and mushrooms thinly. Peel and crush the garlic. Preheat the oven to gas 5/190 C.
- Start cooking: Heat the oil in a large frying pan, fry the garlic and onion for a minute. Then add the other vegetables and fry until softened.
- Add the tomato sauce: tip the tomatoes and tomato puree in with the vegetables and mix well. Add the oregano, salt and pepper and simmer gently.
- Cheese sauce: whisk up the eggs in a bowl, add half the mozzarella and all of the ricotta.
- Assemble the lasagne: smear a little butter or oil into a large rectangular baking dish. Cover the base with lasagne sheets. Add one-third of the cheese sauce then half of the vegetable mixture on top to make layers. Repeat: lasagne, another third of the cheese sauce, rest of the vegetable mix. Finally cover with more lasagne and the rest of the cheese sauce.
- Top with the rest of the mozzarella. Cover with a sheet of aluminium foil.
- Bake for half an hour or so. Prod with a knife to see if the lasagne is ready, if not bake for another 15 minutes with the foil removed.
The Author
Jessica is a fitness writer who loves long distance running, yoga, strength training and healthy eating.
28 February 2018
george h.
cheese sauce with eggs?? Never heard of that, worth a try i guess