Vegetable lasagne is one of those dishes that I love to eat both on a cold winter night to keep me warm and on a sunny spring afternoon with a cold beer. It’s a really versatile dish and the vegetables that you use within it can be changed each time you make it.
If I could, I’d add walnuts to every meal that I make but I think Laura would get pretty fed up with me doing it! Having said that, this vegetable lasagne dish is one where I have a free rein to add as many walnuts as I like (I LOVE walnuts). As a result, the lasagne has a nutty, crunchy top to it that adds a unique flavour to it. Once you try it, you’ll be wondering why you never thought of it before!
Ingredients
- 1/4 red chilli
- 1 aubergine (sliced into chunks)
- 5 asparagus (chopped into 1cm discs)
- 200g vine cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 brown onion (sliced)
- 1 echelon shallot (sliced)
- 100g chestnut/wild mushrooms
- 80g chopped walnuts
- Handful of fresh basil and oregano
- Glug of olive oil
- Glug of balsamic vinegar
- 6 dried lasagne sheets (or enough to fill 3 layers of your dish)
- Juice of half a lemon
- 100g strong cheddar (grated)
- 30g salted butter
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
- 200ml semi skimmed milk
Method
- Preheat your oven at 200 degrees Celsius / 392 degrees Fahrenheit / Gas mark 5.
- Heat a glug of olive oil into a medium-sized frying pan on a high heat.
- Add your chopped shallot, onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes to the pan, cover it (with a lid or just some tin foil) and leave it for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the pan and add the aubergine, asparagus, chilli, mushrooms, half the walnuts, the fresh basil and oregano, the chopped tomatoes, the juice of half a lemon, and finally, the balsamic vinegar. Stir the mixture frequently for around 10 minutes, lowering the heat slightly.
- Whilst this is simmering, it's time to work on the bechamel sauce. First add the butter to a small saucepan (on a medium heat) along with the garlic. Add the flour and mix to a paste.
- Gradually add the milk, 40ml at a time and mixing very well. Do this until all of the milk is used up and the sauce is nice and smooth.
- Bring the sauce to the boil and then take it off of the heat.
- It's now time to add everything to your baking tray. Start by layering in the vegetable mixture from your frying pan, add a couple of sheets of lasagne on top and then smooth over a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Grate a small amount of chaddar on top of the bechamel and repeat until you have three layers. On the top, grate a good amount of cheddar and sprinkle the rest of the walnuts evenly over the top.
- Add thee tray into your preheated oven for around 25-30 minutes, until the top of the lasagne is golden.
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