Lasagna with a difference

Lasagna is a dish I make regularly as it’s a nice change from curry and rice.  I usually make two small dishes of lasagna – one with vegetables and one with a mixture of Quorn and vegetables.  My children love Quorn but I am never tempted to try it as it looks too much like the real stuff.  I really have no idea how I ended up with this lasagna recipe.

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• Lasagna sheets – 14 -15 sheets
• 5 cups of frozen vegetables  – My children don’t like mushrooms or courgettes -hence the unusual vegetables.
• 1 cup of cooked black eyed peas.
• 1 onion
• 1 can of Italian crushed tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic -peeled and crushed
• 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped green chillies -optional
• 3-4 cups of grated cheddar cheese – ( you can use less if you wish)
• 1/2  bag of frozen wedges (optional)

For the White sauce:

• 1 oz butter
• 1 oz plain flour
• 1 pint milk
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1.   Warm up the olive oil and add the onions to the oil and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

2.   Crush the tomatoes using a potato masher and add them to the onions.

3.   Add the salt. pepper, garlic, green chillies to the sauce.

4.   Add the frozen vegetables to the mixture

5.   Add the blackeyed peas.

6.   Lower the heat and simmer the mixture.

Now prepare the White sauce:

7.    Melt the butter in a saucepan.

8.    Add the flour and cook to form a roux

9.    Add the nutmeg to the roux.

10.  Take the saucepan off the heat and gradually stir in some of the milk.  Whisk it to get a smooth sauce
.
11.  Add in all the milk and return the saucepan to heat until it starts to boil

12.  Add in the salt and pepper and remove from heat.


Now prepare the lasagne sheets.

13.  Boil some water in a large saucepan.

14.  Put in the lasagna sheets a few at a time and allow them to cook for at least 3 minutes.

Now prepare the lasagne:

15.  Add a single layer of  lasagna sheets at the bottom of a greased  lasagne dish

16.  Cover this with a layer of the cooked vegetables

17.  Cover the vegetables with a layer of white sauce

18.  Repeat the layering again ending with the white sauce at the top.

19.  Sprinkle the top layer with grated cheese.

20.   This is where I went a bit crazy. I thought that lasagna would taste nice with some chips or wedges.

21.   Don’t ask me why but I decided to layer the top of the lasagna with some frozen potato wedges.

22.  Cook this in the middle of the oven at 190 degrees for 25 -30 minutes. Check that the lasagna has cooked by pricking the middle with a knife.

23. The lasagna looked and tasted delicious when it was cooked.   Adding the potato wedges on the top of the lasagna worked well and blended well.