Is there anything better than coming home to the smell of lasagna? I've always loved this dish, but in my house, we've never been a fan of red meat, so we replace the beef with Quorn mince. I also used 'verdi' dried lasagna sheets which contain spinach, making them green (not for any particular reason - we just had them in the cupboard!) Instead of using a traditional white sauce for the topping I prefer to use a creamy mixture of one beaten egg and yoghurt, which is quick to make, high in protein and crisps up really well on top.
For the filling:
300g quorn mince, frozen
one tbsp olive oil
one onion
one clove of garlic
a stick of celery
one carrot
one red pepper
two handfuls of button mushrooms
one packet of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
pinch of ground nutmeg
dried lasagna sheets
1/2 cup tomato sauce
For the 'white sauce' topping:
one large egg, beaten
2 tbsp plain or low-fat yoghurt
mozarella, diced
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. Finely chop the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Slice the red pepper and mushrooms.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions until translucent and soft. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and garlic and cook until softened.
Add the Quorn mince and 'brown' for a minute or two. Next, add the chopped tomatoes, half a cup of water, the dried basil, oregano and nutmeg, and some salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened.
In a bowl, beat one egg and add the yoghurt. Mix together to form a creamy white sauce, and season well with salt and pepper.
Check the filling mixture and season to taste. Take your lasagna dish and cover the bottom with a layer of tomato sauce. Alternate sheets of lasagna with the filling.
Layer it up!
After the final layer of lasanga, pour over the white sauce and top with the diced mozzarella.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbling through and golden. Enjoy!
What meat or vegetarian substitute do you use in lasagna? What's your favourite pasta recipe?
Oh, I love your addition of mushrooms...yum! And the spinach pasta, too~
ReplyDeleteI usually use sliced Italian sausage in my lasagna, but I also have a cheesy meatless version with mushrooms that I love~
@Lizzy Mmm, sliced Italian sausage sounds yummy! I've made a lasagna with chicken before, but have yet to try one with nothing 'meat-like' - cheese and mushroom sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! To reduce the sodium in my lasagna, I substitute silken tofu for ricotta cheese. No one has ever complained - and you really can't tell the difference!
ReplyDelete@thedailydish Wow, great tip! I'll have to give that a go.
ReplyDeleteThis looks looks comforting and delicious! I love lasagna. I usually just do the traditional with ground beef. I don't make it often though, so maybe I need to experiment!
ReplyDeletethis looks delicious!!! such a fall, awesome recipe! thanks for the tips and versatility of this recipe!
ReplyDelete@Erin I want to try making some variations too! The Quorn soaks up whatever flavours you cook it with so it pretty much ends up tasting like the traditional :)
ReplyDelete@CJ @ http://healthy-happy-whole.com/ Glad you liked the look of it!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such a great recipe and I love that you didn't use red meat. I'm not the biggest meat eater myself, so I might just go ahead and stick with your healthified version ;)
ReplyDelete@Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance Yeah its a pretty good substitution, even my brother who loves red meat likes this version :)
ReplyDeleteWow, this recipe looks delicious! I love mushrooms :)
ReplyDelete@feeedingbrainandbody Me too! I tend to add them to everything!
ReplyDelete