I love vegetarian lasagne and this roasted vegetable lasagne is my favourite. It was inspired by this recipe from BBC Good Food but I make a simpler tomato sauce. The tomato sauce recipe is also good just as it is served with pasta and a sprinkle of Italian-style hard cheese (Parmesan cheese isn’t vegetarian but you can get vegetarian equivalents).
The lasagne does take a bit of time because you need to roast the vegetables and make the tomato sauce and the white sauce before you layer it up but I think it’s worth it. It’s so fresh tasting, it’s a hundred times better than buying a ready-made one. I tend to cook it at the weekend when I can enjoy each stage of the preparation and sometimes my partner chips in and makes the tomato sauce. Alternatively, you could take a shortcut or two and use ready-made sauces.
I buy a packet of fresh lasagne sheets from the chiller section at the supermarket. You won’t need a whole packet unless you’re doubling up but any leftover sheets freeze well and defrost quickly when you want to use them. I haven’t given an exact quantity for the lasagne becuase it depends on the shape of your dish. I use a dish that’s about 20 cm square which just holds this amount and divides nicely into four portions.
You can roast the vegetables and make the tomato sauce earlier in the day if you want; they won’t come to any harm.
I’d then recommend that you make the white sauce once you’re ready to layer the lasagne up.
This dish freezes really well so I always make the four portions even though there’s usually only two of us eating it, and then freeze the two spare portions separately. They make a real treat when you don’t have time to cook.
I often serve this just with some salad leaves on the side but you could add some garlic bread if you wanted to up the carb content. I was also thinking after I’d put this together that you could add an extra layer of lasagne between the mozzarella and the second layer of roast vegetables.
Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes optional
- 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- A handful of fresh basil not essential but good
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan.
- Fry the onion and garlic gently for about 5 minutes.
- Add the chilli flakes (optional), chopped tomatoes and dried oregano.
- Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the red wine vinegar and the fresh basil leaves if using.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Roasted Vegetable Lasagne
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 aubergine
- 2 red or orange peppers
- 1 portion of Italian tomato sauce see recipe above
- 1 portion of white sauce see recipe above
- 125 g mozzarella
- About 100g fresh lasagne sheets any leftovers freeze well
- 3-4 cherry tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
- Halve the aubergine lengthwise and cut into 1 cm slices.
- Cut the peppers into large chunks.
- Put both into a roasting tin, toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and season with black pepper.
- Roast for 15 minutes then turn the veg and roast for a further 10 minutes.
- Put to one side until you need them
- Lower the oven temperature to 180°C/gas mark 4.
- Prepare the tomato sauce and the white sauce.
- Cut the mozzarella into quite small pieces.
- Layer the ingredients in a lasagne dish as follows: Half of the roast vegetables, half of the tomato sauce, a layer of lasagne, half of the white sauce, sprinkle with half of the mozzarella, the rest of the roast vegetables, the rest of the tomato sauce, a layer of lasagne, the rest of the white sauce.
- Now decorate with a few sliced cherry tomatoes, the rest of the mozzarella, fresh basil and black pepper.
- Bake at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 35 minutes.