Jack Monroe's veggie lasagne
Jack uses store cupboard lentils, tomatoes and mushrooms as the basis of her vegetarian lasagne ragu. Topped with an easy white sauce and crispy breadcrumbs, this is sure to please.
There's no cheese in this recipe, and if you use oil instead of butter and a vegan milk subsitute in the white sauce, this is a vegan lasagne! Make sure to use vegan lasagne sheets if making for this purpose.
Ingredients
For the vegetarian lasagne
- 1 onion, roughly chopped (or handful frozen chopped onions)
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- drizzle oil
- 150g/5½oz dried green or red lentils, rinsed well under running water
- 100ml/3½fl oz red wine or brewed black tea
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried herbs
- 400g/14oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp gravy granules
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú spinach, kale or other green vegetables, roughly chopped
- 1 packet dried lasagne sheets (around 12 standard sheets), egg-free if required
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the white sauce
Method
Sweat the onion and garlic in a large saucepan or frying pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt until translucent.
Stir in the lentils, wine or tea, chopped tomatoes and herbs, then bring to a simmer.
When the lentils have softened slightly, add the mushrooms, gravy granules and green vegetables.
To make the white sauce, warm the oil or melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the flour and mustard, stirring well to form a paste. Add a splash of milk and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or a whisk. Gradually add splashes of milk until all the liquid has been incorporated. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Spread a third of the mushroom sauce in the bottom of a deep baking dish. Cover with lasagne sheets. Spread over a layer of white sauce. Repeat the layering of ragù, pasta and sauce twice more until the ragù is used up. Finish with a layer of lasagne and white sauce on top. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese, if using.
Bake for 40 minutes until golden-brown and crisp around the edges.
