Vegetarian Lasagna

It's happening. I can feel it. The veggies are starting to take over my life. I don't think I'll ever fully convert to vegetarianism but I'm certainly enjoying more veggie meals than ever before. I had always imagined meals without meat to be bland and boring with little satisfaction. I repent. My meat free week a few weeks ago has proved me wrong and now I enjoy meat free meals at least 3-4 times per week. This was one of my favourite recipes from that week and I am sure it will be on the menu numerous times over the summer.

Serves 6-8

For Lentils and Tomato Sauce:
200g Lentils
2 Bay Leaves
3 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 stick of Celery (finely chopped)
1 Carrot (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 Courgette (finely chopped)
1 Red Pepper (finely chopped)
90ml White Wine
700g Tomato Passata
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tin (400g) of Butter Beans (drained and rinsed)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For Bechamel:
50g Butter
50g Flour
500ml of Milk
grating of Nutmeg

For Assembly:
10 Lasagna Sheets (approx)
2 balls of Mozzarella (preferably Irish Buffalo Mozzarella, finely sliced)

1. Rinse the lentils well before putting in a saucepan with 1 litre of cold water and one bay leaf. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for approx 30 minutes. There is no need to season the lentils yet. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, courgette and red pepper. Season well with salt and pepper and cook for 7-10 minutes. Add the wine and allow to cook off for 4-5 minutes before adding the cooked lentils, passata, oregano and beans. Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Check for seasoning.

3. Meanwhile make the bechamel. Put a saucepan over a medium heat and melt the butter in it. When it has all melted add the flour and stir well. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn't burn. Whisk in the milk in a steady stream and stir often. It will thicken quite quickly as it comes to the boil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg and set aside.

4. Cook the lasagna sheets in plenty of salted boiling water for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep apart from each other to stop them from sticking.

5. Assemble the lasagna in a baking dish. Start with a thin layer of lentil and tomato sauce followed by bechamel followed by a single layer of pasta sheets. Repeat this process twice more and finish with a layer of bechamel. Top the dish with the mozzarella and bake in a pre-heated 180 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Lasagne

Lasagne

One of the most recognisable dishes in the world, the Lasagne Bolognese is one of Italy's most famous and popular exports. It is comfort food at its finest, a deep flavoured Ragu layered with some beautiful Pasta and a deliciously rich Bechemel Sauce, baked until bubbly.....fantastico! This is not a traditional Italian Lasagne Bolognese but is instead, my take on the classic. I've added Porcini Mushrooms to give a more earthy flavour while the Cherry Tomatoes on top help to cut through the rich Ragu beautifully.

For The Meat Sauce/Ragu:

5tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
250g Pork Belly (diced)
400g Minced Beef
400g Minced Pork
1 Large Onion (finely chopped)
1 Large Carrot (finely chopped)
1 Celery Stick (finely chopped)
2 Large Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
150ml White Wine
25g Dried Porcini (soaked in hot water for 30 mins, keep the juice, dice)
80ml left over Porcini soaking juice
10 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
500g Tomato Passata
2 Bay Leaves
1tsp Dried Oregano
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For The Pasta:

200g Italian "00" Flour (or Extra Strong Bread Flour)
2 Eggs

For The Bechemel:

50g Butter
2.5tbsp Flour
550ml Milk
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

50g Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
12 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1. Add the Oil to a saucepan over medium heat and add the diced Pork Belly. Fry for 5-6 minutes and add the Onion, Carrot, Celery and Garlic. Sweat for 5-10 minutes until soft.Turn the heat up, add the Beef and Pork mince, season well and brown for 7 minutes.

2. Add the Wine and cook off. Add the diced Porcini, 80ml of the soaking juice, Passata, Cherry Tomatoes, Bay Leaves and Oregano. Season well, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid (leaving a small gap for steam to escape) and simmer for 1 and a half hours, stirring occasionally. If the sauce is too watery you can take off the lid and reduce for 10-15 minutes.

3. Next make the pasta. Tip the flour onto a clean table, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs in. Beat with a fork and then gradually work in the flour from the sides. Bring together with your hands and knead for a few mins until it become springy. Cover with Cling Film and put in the fridge for 30 mins.

4. Next , the Bechemel. Melt the butter in a saucepan and when its melted add the flour. Stir for 2-3 mins being careful not to let it burn. Slowly add the milk and whisk continuesly while heating until is thickens (approx 7-10 minutes) Season well, remove from the heat and set aside.



5. Remove the Pasta from the fridge, unwrap and flatten. If rolling by hand you're aiming for the thickness of two playing cards (Really Thin!) A pasta machine works best and its good to have a few helpers for the lower settings! Roll to the thinnest setting working down from the highest (Roll through the highest setting 5 times first, folding in half between each roll, to improve the texture) Dust with flour when necessary. Cook in well seasoned boiling water for 1 minute and drain well. Lay out on a table to avoid them sticking together.

6. Remove the Bay Leaves from the Meat Sauce and take it off the heat. Lightly oil the bottom of your baking dish and begin with a light layer of Meat Sauce, followed by Bechemel, a little Parmesan and a light seasoning of Salt and Pepper. Top with a layer of the Pasta and repeat the process until the dish is almost full. Finish with a good layer of Bechemel and a good sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese. Season again and finish with halved Cherry Tomatoes around the edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 degrees C. Serve with some good Garlic Bread.

Variations

This is another great base recipe that can easily be adjusted to taste. Add extra vegetables to the Ragu for a more nutritious hit or add some Basil to get that quintissentially Italian flavour. One layer of Prosciutto in the middle of a Lasagne can also work great and dotting little balls of Mozzarella in the layers before baking makes for a lovely surprise! Dried Pasta can also be used instead of fresh if time is short.