It was starting to feel like ages since I’d properly cooked anything – been really busy with work lately, plus another cat in the household = busy times! So I made sure to uphold Pasta Sunday this weekend, my mini-mission to try using my pasta machine for a different dish every week. So far we’ve had ravioli, tortellini and last week, tagliatelle with broccoli and cream (actually knocked up mid-week with some frozen unrolled dough, which works great):
This week I made a lasagne to use up some of the vegetables in the fridge. I’m getting speedier with the pasta machine each time, and the bonus of lasagne = no fiddly cutting or stuffing required. This was ready in under an hour from start to finish.
The thinness test – I can see the placemat through it!
This lasagne is really richly flavoured from the concentrated tomato sauce, charred veg and made extra-rich with the cheesy top. Josh (not a vegetarian) said it was one of the best lasagnes he’s eaten.
Ingredients
- 6-8 lasagne sheets - fresh or dried
- 1 aubergine
- 1 romano (sweet pointed) pepper
- 4 large chestnut mushrooms
- Small handful of pine nuts
- 400g tin plum tomatoes
- Half a white onion, sliced in half again
- 5 or 6 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- Milk, flour and butter
- Grated cheddar cheese and feta cheese
Method
- Chop the vegetables into 1-inch chunks, spread on a baking sheet with the pine nuts and a liberal glug of olive oil, and season. Pop into a 200-degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until soft and a little charred round the edges.
- Tomato sauce - chuck the tomatoes (tinned and sun-dried) and onion into a pan with a knob of butter and bubble on a medium heat until jammily reduced. Discard the onion and mix the roasted veg into the sauce.
- Bechamel - Whisk together a tablespoon each of butter and flour and cook for a minute. Pour in a mugful of milk and whisk until smooth and thickened. Season well and stir in a handful of cheddar.
- Assemble the lasagne. If you're using dried sheets, parboil them for 5-6 minutes until slightly soft. Butter a baking dish and layer up, pasta first, ending with béchamel. Top with a crumble of feta and a little more cheddar and bake for 20 minutes until bubbling and browned.
Wow – this looks amazing! We recently discovered a delicious courgette lasagne (this one), definitely want to try yours now!
Mmm, I love ricotta with pasta – light yet creamy! Spinach, ricotta and mushroom is a good mix too.
This actually made my mouth water Katie! Hope the kitties are getting on a bit better! Lila is quite the feisty one! xxx
My golly goodness this looks A-MAZING. I’ve just had my supper and yet suddenly I’m hungry all over again… Good work! Haven’t made pasta for years but am inspired to now dust off the old pasta machine!