Homemade Vegetarian Lasagne with Homemade Wholewheat Garlic Bread - An Original Recipe

If you enjoy a "meaty" lasagne but without the meat, then you might like to try this!  Nutritious, straightforward, and very satisfying.  Some vegetarian lasagnes which use layers of vegetables and a tomato sauce are very lovely, but I like to prepare quite a thick and sumptuous bolognese, so I use a mixture of beans and vegetables in a flavoursome tomato sauce to achieve the desired texture.

As some of you read in a previous post, I was served a ready-made lasagne several months ago by a well-meaning friend, but good grief, it made my stomach churn something chronic.  Never again will I allow even a spoonful of processed lasagne to pass my lips!  I also became a vegetarian some months ago too, as personally I could no longer justify the eating of meat to myself, knowing what I know about the treatment of animals, and the disgusting processes behind the preparation of most meat.  So that forced me to get creative with vegetables and legumes, and happily I'm enjoying so many tasty and nutritious meals as a consequence!

What you will need:

500g organic mixed beans*

4 large carrots

2 onions

6 cloves garlic (or more if you like)

1/2 red pepper

1/2 orange pepper

1 jar organic tomato passata/chopped tomatoes

2 tblsp red wine

1 tblsp wholegrain mustard

2 tsp pesto (red or green)

1 tblsp rosemary

1 tblsp thyme

1 tblsp oregano

1 tblsp honey

Salt & pepper to taste

300ml milk

25g butter

50g organic fine wholewheat flour 

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheese

1 box of organic wholewheat lasagne sheets (the kind that don't need cooking first)

* I always have my own stash of cooked-from-dried beans in the freezer, which is super handy if you do a lot of vegetarian cooking.  Please see my previous post on the easiest way to batch cook beans.  In this lasagne I happened to use chickpeas, cannellini beans and pinto beans, but any type will work just as well as it's the texture of them that is most important.

Method

Peel, wash and then 'blitz' the carrots and garlic in a food processor or manual veg chopper.  Dice the onions and peppers.  

In a large frying pan melt a tablespoon of coconut oil on moderate heat then add the vegetables.  Saute for 10 minutes until softened

In a large bowl half-mash the beans and then add to the pan 

Add the tomato passata, red wine, mustard, pesto, honey and all the seasonings.  Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add a little water if needed... We don't want it too sloppy or 'saucey' but we don't want it too dry either

In another small pan on moderate heat, put the milk, butter, flour and nutmeg together, and whisk continuously until the white sauce begins to thicken.  This only takes about 5 minutes.  (This white sauce is supposed to be quite thick so that it doesn't merge with the bolognese mixture when in the oven, as this can make the lasagne sloppy).

In a large oven-proof dish, assemble the lasagne as follows: 

First spoon a small amount of bolognese mixture on the base of the dish and spread around - this will stop the lasagne sheets from sticking.  

Place a single layer of lasagne sheets to cover the base (snap pieces off to make them fit, just don't overlap the lasagne sheets as they may not soften properly).  

Ladle half the bolognese mixture on top of the first layer of lasagne sheets.  Then place another layer of sheets on top of the bolognese.  

Next, ladle the remaining bolognese mixture, and a final layer of lasagne sheets.

Spoon all of the white sauce on top, then sprinkle on the grated cheese and a generous amount of oregano (I find it adds a lovely taste and helps to give a nice crunchy top)

Put the lid on - this is important otherwise the top will burn long before the rest of it is cooked.  Pop into a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 45 minutes.  Remove the lid and pop back into the oven for a further 15 minutes for the top to crisp up nicely

For the garlic bread:

I use my Homemade Wholewheat Irish Soda Bread for this as it is makes really delicious garlic bread, and it is a very easy recipe as well.

You can cheat and use garlic puree of you like, but personally I prefer fresh garlic as not only does it taste better, but is more medicinal this way.  I used about 6 large cloves for 3 slices of bread, but if that's too much for you just use the amount you want!  Chop the garlic up finely and mix with enough butter to spread quite thickly.  I just mix it up in a tea cup.  Spread on the garlic butter and sprinkle with oregano.

Place under a medium-hot grill until it turns golden and crunchy, then flip oven and grill the other side

Serve the lasagne and garlic bread, and enjoy with a well-deserved glass of wine!

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Many thanks.   

 
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