Spiced Vegetable and Lentil Lasagne
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Nutrition: Per serving
Energy
455 Kcal
Fat
19g
Saturates
3.4g
Sugars
9.4g
Salt
0.62g
This favourite Italian dish uses a mix of spinach, mushrooms, peppers and lentils making up a whopping 3 of your 5-a-day in one serving! This is beautifully complemented by a white sauce made with unsweetened soya drink and plant-based soya alternative to yogurt! It hits so many of the UCLP© boxes too: its low in saturated fat, low in sugars and a source of protein*! Bellissimo!
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable or mild olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded & finely sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped
3 tbsp ground garam masala/curry powder or 200g jar Tikka paste
500g carton tomato passata or 400g can chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
380g drained can/carton lentil (beans or chickpeas can be used instead)
1 reduced salt vegetable stock cube
Sauce:
4 tbsp (60ml) vegetable or mild olive oil
40g plain flour
½ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
300ml Alpro Soya No Sugars drink or Greek-style alternative to yogurt
A pinch of pepper
200ml Alpro Plain No Sugars (or Greek-style) alternative to yogurt
100g lower-fat cheddar-type cheese, grated
Putting it all together:
100g fresh spinach, washed
150g mushrooms, wiped or peeled & sliced
250g leeks, finely sliced into rings, washed
8 sheets dried wholewheat lasagne sheets
Method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC / 180º Fan / Gas 5.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion & red pepper over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, then add the garlic and curry powder/paste cooking for a further 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, lentils and stock cube and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Sauce:
Pour the 4 tablespoons oil into a small saucepan and stir in the flour, place over a medium heat and add the Alpro Soya No Sugars drink a little at a time, beating well after each addition to prevent lumps forming.
Bring to the boil, add the nutmeg (if using) & a good pinch of ground pepper to taste. Stir in half the grated cheese.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly before stirring in the Alpro Plain No Sugars or Greek-style alternative to yogurt.
Putting it all together:
Lightly oil the base of an ovenproof 34 x 25cm dish and lay 4 sheets of dried lasagne sheets across the base.
Spoon over half the spicy lentil mixture and top with the washed spinach and sliced leeks.
Cover with the other 4 sheets of lasagne sheets and spoon over the remaining spicy lentil mixture, top with the sliced mushrooms and pour the cheese sauce evenly over the top.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. If the top becomes too brown, cover with baking parchment.
TOP TIPS: If you don’t have leeks, replace with 2 large onions. Instead of spinach and mushrooms, you can replace with any roasted vegetables e.g. courgettes, parsnips, squash. Some of the vegetables can be replaced with minced meat or soya mince.
* This recipe provides 21g of Protein per serving.