Even though I count myself an omnivore, I oftentimes eat meals that do not contain meat. One of my favorite dishes to produce without meat and wheat (hey, that rhymes!) is a vegetarian lasagna. This lasagna is not only easy to make, it also uses ‘real ingredients’ and is created from scratch. It uses veggies to substitute the lasagna leaves and is quite budget friendly too. If you want to make this vegan, simply leave out the cheese and if you wish you could replace it by nutritional yeast.
This lasagna isn’t too different from a traditional lasagna. However, when I made this, I was hoping the goat’s cheese would melt on top, but it didn’t. I’ll have to use different cheese next time I make this, which is what I usually do, but I still had soft goat’s cheese in my fridge and I hate spoiling food so I figured this would be as tasty. It just makes for less appealing pictures.
Serves 4 – 6. Prep time: 30 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes. Total time: 1 hour.
Ingredients:
- 2 courgettes/ zucchinis
- 1 aubergine/ eggplant
- 1 leak
- 500 grams of mushrooms
- fresh basil leaves
- 1 can of diced tomatoes*
- 1 package of passata*
- 1 large can of tomato paste*
- 6 slices of soft goat’s cheese
- olive oil
- thyme
- basil
- oregano
Tools:
- large pan
- oven dish
- oven
- slicer
* I make sure that the tomato products I buy in cans and packages are only tomatoes and water and maybe a bit of salt. I always avoid the ones without sugar, at my supermarket this means buying the cheapest of the cheapest as it comes with the least amount of stuff.
Step 1:
- Preheat oven to 180 Celcius
- Grease an oven dish with olive oil
- Use your slicer to slice one zucchini into long, thin slices. Put them in a container and sprinkle generously with olive oil and maybe a bit of salt and toss. Set aside.
Step 2:
- Cut up all your other vegetables and fry them up in your pan. I usually toss in leak first, followed by eggplant and zucchini then mushrooms. So everything cooks evenly.
- Add in your herbs. Chop your basil finely and add as well.
- Add your tomato products. Stir together and let it sit until it hits a simmer.
Step 3:
- Line up your oven tray.
- Start with a layer of sauce
- Add a layer of zucchini slices, make sure they overlap so they form a uniform whole as much as possible
- Repeat until all sauce and zucchini slices are gone
- Top off with your favorite cheese
Step 4:
- Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted/ browned and the tomato sauce is nice and bubbly.
Ta-dah: your all veggie lasagna is done! This is super easy to make and pretty much foolproof. It is packed with veggies and thus will ensure you get all the nutrients you need. Oh and btw, you can always add a bit of chili powder to the sauce to give it a bit of an extra kick. Bon Appetit!
What is your favorite style of lasagna?