#readcookeat recipe : Triple layer vegetarian lasagne (A Long Ways From Home)

When I told you that I could do an entire week's menu plan using nothing but recipes inspired by Sgt Windflower in Mike Martins's A Long Ways From Home (click through for my review), I wasn't exaggerating. I've already made Fried Fish With Scrunchions (that's crispy bacon or pork scratchings to you and me), Chicken Fried Rice, Salmon Casserole and Salmon with Curry Sauce. I have several of Sgt Windflower's favourite sweet treats bookmarked too, but today, I was inspired by a mention of another savoury dish.

p178 Windflower could hear the bath running upstairs and passed a few minutes reading Sheila's magazines on the couch. He didn't get the fashion ones, but he loved the magazines with pictures and recipes. He was deep into how to make a three-level vegetarian lasagna when Sheila called him upstairs.

This time, the author didn't go into a detailed description of what went into the dish, so I had free rein to be as inventive as I liked. I headed down to the freezer to see what I could find and had a good clearout of all the veggies lurking in there. (I've shown you what I used below but feel free to adapt to suit whatever you have in the freezer.) The resulting dish was really tasty - you could detect each separate vegetable but the whole lot worked together really well. Thanks for another great dish, Sgt Windflower !

Triple layer vegetarian lasagne

ingredients :

10 lasagne sheets

600ml milk

3tbsp butter

3tbsp plain flour

100g + 100g grated cheese

salt, pepper, smoked paprika

drizzle of olive oil

2 onions

5 mushrooms

1 cup red kidney beans, drained

1 small can of sweetcorn

3tbsp tomato concentrate

2tbsp water

200g sweet potato

200g root vegetables (I used carrots and parsnips)

1 bag frozen green bean, courgette, spinach & pea puree

I used frozen root veg fries but you could easily make your own fresh.

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Put the root veg in the oven at 200g for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and starting to crisp up. (I didn't use my leftover broccoli and potatoes in the end but you could incorporate whatever you have.)

Next I prepared the frozen puree (again, you could make your own from fresh, or even use a tin of mushy peas if you're in a rush !)

Cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until smooth and creamy. Turn off the heat and reserve.

Chop and fry the onions and mushrooms in a drizzle of olive oil.

Add the red kidney beans and sweetcorn.

 Spoon in the tomato concentrate and squish it into the vegetables, then add the water. Not too much as you don't want it to be too runny. Turn off the heat and reserve.

Melt the butter in a large pan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Pour in the milk and bring to the boil, whisking constantly until it thickens. Add the seasoning and half of the cheese. If you're short on time, you could even use a packet cheese sauce mix.

Pour the beans mixture into the bottom of an ovenproof dish.

Lay three lasagne sheets on top (presoak them if needed - check the instructions on the packet) and spoon half of the cheese sauce on top.

Scatter the roasted root veg fries on top. Add another layer of lasagne sheets.

Pour the green veg puree on top.

Add another layer of lasagne sheets then the remaining cheese sauce and finish off with a couple of handfuls of grated cheese.

Bake at 180° for 30 minutes or so, until the cheese has gone golden brown and the pasta is cooked through.

This dish really packs in the veggies so it covers your 5-a-day in one ! It's a great way of getting the kids to tuck into some extra vegetables too because if you don't tell them, they'll never know half of what's gone in there ! If you have any left over, cut into single serve portions and freeze.

This was great for clearing out the veggies in the freezer so I'm adding it to this month's #KitchenClearout linky.

Linking up with the #readcookeat challenge over at Chez Maximka.

Linking up to the #EatYourGreens Challenge at A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table and The Veg Hog