I had planned to buy mince to make my lasagna the other week but mummy brain conquered and I forgot to grab some. With a cranky toddler who didn’t want to leave the house I decided I would roll with it, and instead make my usual lasagna but packed with more vegetables than usual. After pureeing the veggie ‘bolognese’ and layering it in the lasagna, my children were none the wiser that it was meatless - and it turned out tasty too, so it was a win all round.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 90 minutes |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
For the veggie bolognese
- 2 tbs organic olive oil
- 120 g organic spinach
- 2 organic carrots
- 2 organic zucchini
- 2 stalks organic celery leaves optional
- 1 organic brown onions finely diced
- 2 organic red capsicum finely diced
- 3 cloves organic garlic finely diced
- 3 organic tomatoes chopped
- 400 g organic pasta
- 1 cup red wine optional, can exchange for water
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbs organic tomato paste
- 2 organic bay leaves
- 1/2 cup organic basil leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup organic oregano chopped
For the Cheese Sauce
- 3 tbs organic plain flour
- 65 g organic butter
- 2 cups organic milk
- 100 g organic cheese grated
For the lasagna assembly
- 250 g lasagna sheets fresh or dry
- 200 g organic cheese grated, for on top of the lasnage
Ingredients
For the veggie bolognese
For the Cheese Sauce
For the lasagna assembly
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
- Heat the olive oil in a large frypan
- Sautee the onion, capsicum and garlic
- Add the zucchini, carrots, spinach, celery, tomatoes and fry for five minutes on medium heat
- Add the bottle of passata, wine and water and bring to the boil
- Reduce to a simmer and add the herbs, bay leaves, tomato paste, sugar and bay leaves
- Simmer for as long as you can but an hour minimum
- Remove the bay leaves, transfer the sauce to a blender and puree
- Transfer to a bowl, ready for assembling the lasagna
For the cheese sauce
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan
- Stir in the flour and don’t let it go brown, (the flour and butter should combine to make a thick cheesy substance)
- Gradually add a little of the milk at a time so that the sauce remains thick
- Once all the milk has been added, stir over low heat till bubbling
- Add the grated cheese and stir until it melts
- Set aside for assembling the lasagna
For the lasagna assembly:
- I’m sure everyone has their own way they do this. I like to put the lasagna sheets down first on the bottom of the lasagna dish. I add a few ladlefuls of the veggie bolognese on top of the sheets and then a couple of ladlefuls of the cheese sauce. I mix them around together then repeat the process several times until the lasagna dish is full.
- Top the assembled lasagna with grated cheese and cook for forty five minutes. You can put foil over the top of the lasagna for the first half an hour and then take it off in the last fifteen minutes so that the cheese on top makes a delicious crust.
Recipe Notes
Serve with garlic bread and salad. Enjoy!
