Mushroom and Lentil Lasagne (to die for)
Servings: 4
This wholesome Mushroom and Lentil Lasagne is a delicious, vegetarian twist on the classic dish. Packed with vegetables and hearty Puy lentils, it’s a great comfort meal that’s both nutritious and satisfying.
Ingredients
- 100 g Puy (French) lentils (½ cup approx.)
- 15 ml extra virgin olive oil -extra virgin (1 tbsp)
- 1 onion/s -peeled and halved
- 3 clove/s garlic -peeled and chopped
- 1 stick/s celery -roughly chopped
- 2 carrot/s -roughly chopped
- 1 zucchini/s (medium) roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaf/s -dried
- 1 bunch/s fresh thyme leaves - leaves picked off the stems
- 250 g mushrooms -Swiss brown or portobello
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 400 ml vegetable stock (or bone broth if not worried about it no longer being vegetarian)
- 400 g diced tinned tomatoes (or 6 vine ripened roma tomatoes) diced
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper -to taste
- 60 g baby spinach -chopped (2 cups)
- 200 g dried lasagne sheets (see below for GF and GrF)
Cheese sauce (see below for a vegan version)
- 115 g cheddar cheese (1 cup) grated
- 30 g butter
- 55 g wholemeal spelt flour (½ cup)
- 500 ml milk (of choice) (2 cups) -see below variations
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper -to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180℃ / 350℉ fan-forced (about 10 minutes before you are ready to bake the lasagne).
- I personally like to soak all legumes overnight in water with a splash of vinegar, so do this with the puy lentils if you like (you don't have to, but I'd recommend it).
- I used my Thermomix to do all the chopping, but you can easily use a regular food processor or grate/ finely dice all the veggies by hand. No need to wash or rinse the food processor in between each step too.
- In a food processor or Thermomix chop your garlic. If using a Thermomix, 5 secs, speed 5 and then add onion 5 secs, speed 4.
- Heat a large pan over a low heat and add the olive oil (or you can use ghee or butter if not vegan). Add the chopped garlic/onion and gently sauté whilst processing the other veggies.
- Now pop the celery, carrots and zucchini into your food processor and pulse to chop - you are looking for a course consistency so be careful not to over process. If using a Thermomix use the turbo button, quick pulses until the right consistency, about 2-3 should do it look through the lid after each pulse. Alternatively grate the carrot and zucchini and finely dice the celery. Add this to the pan with the onion.
- Sauté for a few minutes with the bay leaves and thyme leaves.
- Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until just chopped. If using a Thermomix pulse 1-2 times.
- Add them to the pan with the Puy lentils, tomato paste, stock and diced tomatoes. Season, stir to combine and allow to simmer with the lid ajar, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the lentils are cooked. This will take about 30 minutes.
- Once cooked, add the chopped spinach and stir though to wilt it. Taste, adjust the seasoning if you need to (salt brings out the flavour so don't be shy). Remove from the heat and set aside.
Cheese sauce
- Grate the cheese (in the processor and set aside).
- For the Thermomix method, follow the recipe for Béchamel in your basic cookbook.
- In a medium sized pot, melt the butter over a low heat. Remove from the heat and add the flour mixing to combine.
- Return to a medium to high heat and gradually add the milk, approx. half a cup at a time mixing constantly. As it heats it will thicken, this is when you should add another half a cup of milk. Do this until all the milk is added and the sauce is thick.
- Add about a quarter of the cheese, season with sea salt and pepper to taste, and stir well (reserve the rest of the cheese for the top of the lasagne).
Assemble
- To assemble the lasagne, use a medium size baking dish (mine is 25 x 25cm), placing half of the lentil sauce in the base, top with lasagne sheets, then the remaining lentil sauce, another layer of pasta and finish with the cheese sauce and the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake for 30 - 45 minute or until the lasagne is cooked through.
Serve
- With a big green salad or steamed veggies.
Make-ahead
- Re-heat in a low oven until just hot.
Store
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. I store it in a rectangle shaped oven proof glass pyrex or glass lock container so I can simply remove the lid and reheat in the storage container (saves washing up).
- Can also be frozen.