Lasagna has always been a favourite food of mine, and since going vegan I have experimented a lot to make a lasagna that I am truly content with. A lasagna that comes out the oven and I have to stop myself eating it all before I portion it out! I have now got there, and for me, it hits all the right marks!
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- fresh garlic
- 1 red onion
- button/regular mushrooms
- 1 aubergine or half a big one
- 1 courgette
- Asda’s plant based frozen mince (this is my #1 choice for vegan mice hands down)
- salt and pepper
- 3 tins of chopped tomatoes
- vegetable stock (2 cubes/portions)
- herbs (I use garlic and chilli herb mix from Aldi and Italian dried herbs)
- Lasagna sheets
- Spinach (if I have spinach in the house I’ll usually add a roughly chopped handful while I’m cooking the ingredients in the pan.)
For the sauce
- 3 heaped tablespoons of butter (I use Flora buttery)
- plain flour (2 heaped tablespoons)
- plant based milk (soy milk)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
- grated vegan cheese (I use 1/3rd of violife original and 1/3rd or Applewood vegan cheese)
- vegetable stock x1
- optional herbs/additional seasonings
Method:
- Get your largest pan and heat some olive oil.
- Add chopped garlic (I like to use 2-3 cloves)
- Add finely chopped red onion, as garlic begins to heat
- Add finely chopped mushrooms (I use about 2 handfuls)
- Now add frozen mince (amount is up to you)
- Add more oil if you need to, season and mix
- Chop the aubergine and courgette into small chunks
- Add aubergine and courgette once pan contents are soft and cooking
- Continue to cook ingredients for a bit before adding your tinned tomatoes
- Here you can add some vegetable stock or a stock pot and seasoning/herbs
- Let it simmer on a low heat and cook through while you make your sauce:
- Add butter to a pot on low heat
- Grab a hand whisk and get working! Mix the butter until it’s melted and then add your flour half a tablespoon at a time while whisking it in so there are no lumps and it stays smooth
- Once you have your (white sauce) smooth paste, gradually add drops/pours of your milk and keep whisking ensuring the paste turns into a smooth sauce that isn’t runny.
- Remove from heat and add salt and pepper and nutritional yeast and continue to mix
- Add your stock water (make it just enough water to cover stock cube) or stock pot
- Place pot back on low heat and add in your grated cheeses
- Keep whisking until your sauce is like a thick custard
- Taste and add any more ingredients or herbs/seasoning to get it to desired flavour (sometimes I add a couple wee drops of liquid smoke to mine)
- Assemble! Grab a big dish and a few small ones and assemble your lasagna layering the lasagna pasta sheets, your sauce and veggie mix. Ensure you’ve topped off your lasagna with some of your sauce.
- (Tip: if you’ve made some cashew cheeze you can mix this in on top with your sauce, or add it into your layers for some additional cheeseyness/flavour!)
- Bake on a low/medium cook for a thorough cook.
- Once it had cooled or the remaining portion has, its best to slice it up into portions and store in bowls or wrap in cling film for future use (freezes well).
Plant Power 