Vegetarian Lasagna
Servings: 8 people
- 11 ounces (300 grams) no-boil lasagna noodles *see notes
- 2 cups (100 grams) grated parmesan cheese or more to taste
- 10 fresh (10 fresh ) basil leaves for topping
LENTIL BOLOGNESE
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium (1 medium) onion finely chopped
- 1 rib (1 rib) celery finely chopped
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) rosemary
- 2 (2) bay leaves
- 8 ounce (250 grams) mushrooms grated with large holes of a box grater
- 1 cup (200 grams) dried lentils green or brown
- 4 cups (1 liter) vegetable broth
- 24 ounces (700 grams) tomato puree or passata
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) salt or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon (⅛ teaspoon) black pepper
- 3 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) balsamic vinegar or 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
WHITE SAUCE
- 7 tablespoons (3½ ounces) (100 grams) butter or vegan butter
- ⅔ cups (3½ ounces) (100 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (1 liter) milk any
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- 2 twists (2 twists) black pepper
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) grated nutmeg
MAKE THE LENTIL BOLOGNESE
- Sauté 1 medium onion, 1 rib celery, 3 cloves garlic (all chopped) in the extra virgin olive oil for 3 minutes.Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, ½ teaspoon rosemary, 2 bay leaves, 8 ounce mushrooms (grated), 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper and cook for 5 minutes.Add 1 cup dried lentils (rinsed), 4 cups vegetable broth, and 24 ounces tomato puree and simmer for about 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked.Fish out the herbs, stir in 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, then coarsely blend most of the sauce with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust for salt.
MAKE THE WHITE SAUCE
- Melt 7 tablespoons (3½ ounces) butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and sift in ⅔ cups (3½ ounces) all-purpose flour. Whisk until combined, bring to medium heat and whisk 1 more minute.Pour 4 cups milk in while stirring and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often and aim for a creamy and pourable white sauce.Remove from heat and season with ½ teaspoon salt, 2 twists black pepper, and 1 pinch grated nutmeg.
ASSEMBLE THE LASAGNA
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.Spread a thin layer of white sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inches / 20 x 30 cm casserole dish. Top with some lentil bolognese.Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with white sauce, lentil bolognese, and a handful of grated parmesan.Repeat until you have 5 layers of pasta.The top layer should have more sauce and cheese. Keep this in mind as you build the lasagna.
BAKE THE LASAGNA
- Bake the vegetarian lasagna for 30 minutes on a rack in the center of a preheated oven at 350°F or 180°C.Let it cool down for 10 minutes before slicing and serving it with plenty of fresh basil.
Nutritional information is an estimate for 1 portion of vegetarian lasagna out of 8 portions.
NOODLES
There are three types of lasagna noodles:
- No-boil ready-to-bake dry lasagna noodles: Recommended for hassle-free lasagna and beginner cooks. Find them in the dry pasta section of most supermarkets.
- Fresh lasagna noodles: Not all supermarkets keep them, but they are an excellent choice if they do. Read instructions on how to use them; sometimes they need to be pre-boiled. Find them in the refrigerated section of larger supermarkets or Italian delis.
- Dry lasagna noodles: Like regular pasta, they must be boiled in plenty of salted water before you can use them to make lasagna. This can get tricky if you are not an advanced cook and requires longer preparation than no-boil or fresh noodles.
