Today I’m sharing a tasty, veggie-packed take on lasagne that’s satisfying but not as fussy as the traditional method. This is one of my favourite comfort foods that still ensures I get a variety of plant goodness in…
INGREDIENTS
Vegetables:
Aubergine
Courgette
Carrot
Rainbow chard (can be substituted with kale or spinach)
Chestnut mushrooms (or any other variety)
Artichoke hearts
Aromatics, spice and flavour:
Sun-dried tomato pesto
Lemon juice
Garlic
Shallot
Vegetable stock cube
Chilli flakes
Walnuts
Carbs:
Fresh lasagne sheets
Puy lentils (I use these)
Fresh herbs:
Basil
Oregano
Dairy:
Gruyère (or a vegetarian semi-hard cheese)
Pecorino (or a vegetarian Italian hard cheese)
Ricotta (or any other soft cheese)
Double cream
Buffalo mozzarella (or a vegetarian mozzarella)
TIPS
This is a simple recipe, perfect for those who can’t be bothered with labouring over layering a lasagne but want the comfort food feeling. You’re simply cooking the vegetables and throwing everything together, then baking it in the oven. My tips are simply to use fresh lasagne sheets, so they don’t need to cook for as long and pre-preparing your puy lentils (I used a pouch of pre-cooked ones to save time) and pesto (you can use store-bought or use my recipe here).
Vegetable and Lentil Broken Lasagne
A cheesy vegetable-packed lasagne with lentils that doesn't require special assembly
Ingredients
- 4 cloves of garlic (crushed, finely chopped or grated)
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)
- 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
- 1/2 an aubergine (diced)
- 1 courgette (diced)
- 100g of chestnut mushrooms (diced)
- 100g of rainbow chard (roughly chopped)
- 2 jarred artichoke hearts (cut into chunks)
- 1 tsp of chilli flakes
- 3 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
- 250g pre-cooked puy lentils
- 6 fresh lasagne sheets (prepped as per pack instructions immediately prior to using)
- 1 vegetable stock cube (dissolved in 100ml of boiling water immediately prior to using)
- 5 walnuts (crushed)
- 1 unwaxed lemon (juice and rind)
- 100g of Gruyère (grated)
- 50g of Pecorino (finely grated)
- 50g of ricotta cheese
- 125g of Buffalo mozzarella (sliced)
- A small handful (c.2g) of fresh basil (chopped)
- A small handful (c.2g) of fresh oregano (de-stemmed and chopped)
- Olive oil for cooking
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200C and boil the kettle
- In a lidded, wide-based pan or casserole dish, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the garlic and shallot for a couple of minutes until fragrant
- Add the carrot, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes
- Add in the mushrooms, courgette and aubergine, season again and add the chilli flakes – cook for a further 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are softened
- Prepare the lasagne sheets in the meantime
- Add the fresh oregano, cooked lentils, artichoke, lemon rind and pesto, stirring to combine well
- Add the rainbow chard and vegetable stock, cover and steam for 5 minutes before removing from the heat
- Cut the lasagne sheets into thirds or tear into smaller pieces by hand
- Combine the filling and lasagne sheets together so they’re integrated into one mixture in an oven-proof dish
- Combine the double cream with the lemon juice and ricotta and spoon this mixture over the top of the broken lasagne
- Sprinkle over the Gruyère and Pecorino and then add the slices of mozzarella over the top
- Cover with a lid or foil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes
- Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle over the crumbled walnut and fresh basil
- Switch to the grill setting on a medium heat and cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes until the toppings are crisped and golden
- Serve once slightly cooled
It’s not a ‘looker’ but this is seriously tasty and comes together pretty quickly if you’re an efficient veg-chopper! Let me know if you try my broken lasagne…
Here’s how I do it:
But First, Food 
Leave a comment