Healthy Recipes

Mains

Roast vegetable lasagne and a meat version

I love making lasagne!

It’s the type of dish that improves in flavour with time and everyone seems to love it. So if you are expecting people for dinner, make it the night before.

It does take time and dishes to make but you do get quicker the more often you make it..

This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables that you have in the fridge.  I’ve also included a meat version encase you need to cater for meat lovers too.
These dishes freeze beautifully if you do have any leftovers. Learn more in the hints below.

Ingredients

Base layer

1 Tbsp olive oil
200g baby spinach, washed and drained well
1/2 tsp nutmeg
250g cottage cheese or ricotta
50ml fat-reduced milk
1 egg
100g Fresh lasagne sheets

Vegetable layer

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
6 slices egg plant
1 cup pumpkin, skinned and sliced thinly
4-5 button mushrooms
1 small courgette, sliced
1/3 of a red and 1/3 of a yellow capsicum, sliced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
½ tsp ground nutmeg
250g passata or tomato pasta sauce
1 pinch chilli flakes to taste
100g fresh lasagne sheets

White sauce layer

500 mls fat-reduced milk
2 ½ Tbsp corn flour
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp whole seed mustard
1 Tbsp lemon zest, shredded
½Tbsp lemon juice
Chilli flakes to taste

To finish

1-2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, powder (optional)
Liberal sprinkling of dried Italian herbs

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C and arrange the racks one rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven and another in the centre.

Base Layer

  1. Use the first measure of oil to lightly grease a rectangular microwave safe baking dish (18cm x 28 cm x 4cm deep)
  2. Place the washed, drained spinach into this dish, cover with a paper towel and heat on HIGH for 40 -60 seconds until slightly wilted. Remove the covering.
  3. Conserve any spinach flavoured water that may remain after microwaving as this can add flavour to the white sauce. (Although if more than a 1/4 cup you will need to reduce the milk in the sauce by a similar amount).
  4. Sprinkle the nutmeg evenly over the spinach
  5. In a medium sized bowl combine the cottage or ricotta cheese with the milk and egg and beat with a fork to combine, add the chopped basil and pour this mixture evenly over the spinach.
  6. Arrange the fresh lasagne pasta sheets evenly over this spinach and cottage cheese base.

Vegetable layer

  1. To make the vegetable layer, place baking paper on an oven tray and evenly arrange the vegetable to bake i.e. the garlic, sliced onion, egg plant and pumpkin, on top. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil and bake in the top 1/3 of the oven at 200°C until cooked and lightly brown, taking care not to burn them.
  2. Using tongs arrange these vegetables evenly on top of the lasange then the sliced raw mushrooms, capsicums and courgettes spreading evenly.
  3. Add the fresh basil, nutmeg, tomato pasta sauce and chilli flakes according to taste.
  4. Add the second layer of pasta over the vegetable layer

White Sauce

  12 .Pour the milk into a glass jug add the cornflour, chicken stock and mustard
whisking to dissolve and microwave for  5-10 minutes, stopping every 2-3 minutes to stir.
13. As the sauce thickens add the beaten egg, then the lemon plus zest and lastly the chilli        according to taste.
14. Pour the white sauce over the pasta
15. Finish the dish with a light sprinkling of Italian herbs and parmesan cheese (optional)
16. Bake for 45-60minutes then cut the Lasagna into 6 squares and serve along with a tossed  saladand fresh bread

Serves: 6

Vegetarian Version

Each serving (358g) contains: Energy 1231kJ/294kcal; Protein 21.8g; Fat 11g, Sat. Fat 3.8g; Carbohydrate 22g; Sugar 13.8g; Sodium 399mg; Dietary fibre 4.6g

Meat Version (below)

Each serving (330g) contains Energy 1284kJ/305kcals; Protein 32g; Fat 8.7g; Sat. Fat 4g; Carbohydrate 22g; Sugar 8.5g; Sodium 450mg; Dietary fibre 3.5g

Variations:

  • Gluten free: Use GF dried pasta sheets and GF corn flour
  • Dairy free: Omit the cottage/ricotta cheese and instead increase the eggs to 4 in this layer that covers the spinach. Replace the parmesan cheese with 200g of grated dairy free cheese to sprinkle over the top of the white sauce before baking.
  • Vegetarian: If you would prefer a nutter vegetarian option try my Spinach and Walnut Lasagne
  • Meat Sauce:
    If you happen to have people coming for dinner and some are meat lovers and others vegetarian you can make up two dishes at the same time.

Simply double the base and white sauce quantities of this recipe. Get two dishes out and make one dish as above. In the second dish after the Base layer then make up the meat sauce listed below to replace the vegetable layer and then carry on and add the white sauce layer as above. Both versions are delicious!

Meat Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 med red onion, diced
5 button mushrooms, chopped
0.5kg lean beef mince
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
250g passata or tomato pasta sauce
Chilli flakes to taste

Method:

  1. Place the oil, garlic, onion and mushrooms into a frypan over a medium heat and stir until cooked.
  2. Add the mince, chopped basil and nutmeg, then when cooked add the pasta sauce and chilli flakes
  3. Cool this sauce and then use it in the recipe above in place of the vegetarian layer.

Hints

  • To speed up the cooking time

 I always start with wilting the spinach, then get the  white sauce and roast vegetables underway so they are in the microwave and oven while I get the rest of the spinach layer sorted

  • To use up frozen leftovers

This lasagne recipe freezes well. To reconstitute place the frozen lasange into a microwave dish, thaw covered with baking paper then microwave for 5-10 minutes on HIGH or until it is well heated in the centre.
Do not refreeze once reheated

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