I think everyone has a personal favourite way of making lasagne.

Lasagne was my ‘go to’ dish in the early days of our marriage. In fact, so much so that GMan once commented that our impending dinner guests had eaten at our place previously so we would need to think of something else! 

My version of lasagne has evolved noticeably over almost 45 years due to a changing culinary landscape and a variety of dietary considerations. I have reduced the proportion of meat in the dish, eliminated cream, use gluten free flour and pasta. The latest iteration actually replaces the pasta with thin slices of zucchini and the bechamel sauce is made with cauliflower rather than a roux of flour and butter. Interested? Read on for the full details.

LASAGNE

Meat sauce

250g lean minced beef
1 cup dried red lentils
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, grated
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 teaspoons beef stock powder
2 tins crushed tomatoes   } – whatever combination of fresh, dried or frozen tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste }  you have on hand. More water may be required.
Herbs (fresh or dried) to taste – I used a handful of fresh basil and 1 teaspoons of
              dried mixed herbs
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Place the lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. In a large saucepan fry the onion and garlic, add the mince and brown. Add the remaining ingredients including the drained lentils. Simmer gently until the lentils are tender. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry.

White Sauce

1/4 cauliflower
Milk
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Black pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Vegetable stock powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Smoky paprika – 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon
Nutritional yeast – 1 tablespoon

Chop the cauliflower roughly. The stalk and small leave can be included in this recipe. Steam or microwave until tender. Place cooked cauliflower in blender and gradually add milk until the mixture is smooth and a suitable consistency. Add seasonings to taste. The quantities are only suggestion so add a bit at a time until it reaches your desired taste. 

Set sauce aside until required. This sauce can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen if you have too much. It can be substituted in any recipe that requires a creamy white sauce. You can use plant-based milk if you choose.

Other

Zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise
Grated cheese, I use a mixture of cheddar, parmesan and nutritional yeast

Assembly

Layer the various components in an ovenproof dish. I usually do meat sauce, zucchini, white sauce and then cheese and repeat 2-3 times until the dish is full.

Cook in the oven until heated through and browned on top. Alternatively, it can be heated in the microwave and finished off under the grill to brown the top.

Makes 6 generous serves.

This is the only photo I have as I did not think of writing this post until after we had eaten dinner. We ate 2 serves and the remainder were packed up and frozen in 4 individual serves.