Gluten-free Roast Vegetable Lasagne

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Following a meat-free eating plan this past week has really proved to me that vegetarian food doesn’t have to be boring. I was able to create so many delicious meals, including this vegetable lasagne, that were light on the stomach and, as an extra bonus, light in calories! This recipe yielded two big trays of lasagne with which I was able to feed numerous friends and still had enough left for plenty of lunches and dinners for D and myself throughout the week. We enjoyed the meat-free eating so much that we have decided to stick with it, with the exception of a little turkey mince, for another week.

• Olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 100 grams mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 red capsicum, seeded and sliced thinly
• 450 grams tinned diced tomatoes
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, washed & dried
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 a butternut pumpkin, peeled and sliced lengthways into 5 mm slices
• 2 large eggplants, sliced lengthways into 5 mm slices
• 3 packets frozen spinach, cooked in the microwave according to packet directions and drained
• 12 gluten-free lasagne sheets
• 500 grams light ricotta cheese
• 250 grams cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup grated mozarella cheese
• Salt & pepper

1. Begin by preparing the tomato sauce. Saute the onions in a little olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and capsicum and cook until the capsicum starts to soften. Add the tomatoes, passata, herbs and water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and season with salt & pepper. Continue to simmer for an hour or until the sauce gets a dark red skin in the surface and begins to separate.
3. While the sauce is simmering, drizzle the pumpkin and eggplant with a little olive oil, arrange on baking trays and roast in a preheated oven at 180 degrees until soft and cooked through.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, make a mock bechamel by combining the ricotta, cottage cheese, parmesan, egg, milk and nutmeg in a blender and blend until smooth.
5. When the sauce and vegetables are ready, assemble the lasagne by spreading the bottom of your lasagne tray with the tomato sauce. Top with lasagne sheets, pumpkin, eggplant, spinach, more tomato sauce and then a layer of the bechamel. Repeat again and then top the bechamel with the grated mozarella.
6. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and then bake for a further 15 minutes or until the cheese has turned a golden brown.
7. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.