members recipes

Serves 4

A chunky vegetable lasagne (I have used courgettes as I don\'t like mushrooms). I would suggest serving with a green salad. The lasagne was surprisingly filling.

Ingredients
Veg mixture;

1 x large onion, finely chopped

3 x cloves garlic, crushed

1 x aubergine

3 x small/ 2 x large courgettes, sliced, then each slice quarter

190ml vegetable stock

400gr can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoon tomato puree

150ml red wine

1 tsp mixed dried herbs

100g spinach

A good handful of Basil leaves



White sauce

500ml semi skimmed milk

50g plain flour, sieved

50g butter

500ml milk

Salt & pepper



For layering;

50g cheddar, grated

200g cottage cheese

10-12 sheets of lasagne

1 egg

2 - 3 tablespoons Pesto

Method

1. Dice aubergine into 2cm pieces, set aside. Put the chopped onion and crushed garlic into a large saucepan with the stock, cover and simmer for about 5 mins or until onions are soft.

2. Add the aubergine, courgette, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, wine, mixed herbs and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 15-20 mins. Remove the lid increase the heat and cook rapidly until the liquid is reduced by half.

3. Whilst the above is cooking wash the spinach, drain in a colander leaving the excess water on. Put in a saucepan and cook over a low-medium heat whilst it wilts, should take 2-4 mins, keep turning it over with tongs/ wooden spoon. Once wilted, put in a colander and leave to cool. Preheat oven to gas mark 6 (200°c).

4. Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter over a medium heat, take off the heat and stir in the flour, add the milk incorporating it bit by bit, taking off the heat if it becomes lumpy. Once it all the milk has been added, and it has thickened, cooked on the lowest heat possible for 6-10 mins.

5. Squeeze out the excess moisture of the spinach and chop if necessary. Now you can layer the lasagne. Depending on the depth of your oven proof dish, you can either do two layers of pasta or three. Because of the chunkiness of the vegetables, I find it better to do just two layers. Spoon about half of the vegetable mixture over the base of the oven proof dish. Stir in a tablespoon of the pesto, add some spinach. Cover with sheets of lasagne and half of the white sauce.

6. Repeat the vegetable mix, pesto, spinach and cover with lasagne sheets. Now spoon over the cottage cheese. Beat the egg into the remaining white sauce and pour evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese

7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately.