Vegetable Lasagne

Hi, this recipe is from The Australian Woman's weekly 'The Big Book of Kids Cooking' on page 76. This recipe was really nice and delicious with a fresh salad on the side. It was also really easy and could be made in advance and kept in the fridge for later. The lasagne doesn't use actual lasagne pasta, which makes it more of a pasta bake but tastes just as nice. Also, if you wanted, you could add extra veg to it e.g in the tomato sauce or mash in some with the squash or if you have fussy eaters who don't normally eat that much veg willingly you could just add a bit here and there, they'll barely be able to taste a difference! Yet, still get the extra vitamins! Next time, I would experiment with different cheese toppings e.g a stilton or mozzarella would be delish and add a bit of garlic to the tomato sauce. Enjoy!!

Dietary Info:

-Contains Gluten {You can substitute for any G-F pasta alternative, they should all work fine in place of normal pasta}

-Contains Dairy {To make the bake d-f you would have to use a lactose free ricotta and cream substitute or I think that a vegan cream cheese could work well in place of the ricotta/cream mixture, if you needed somethin

g a bit easier. The cheese topping can just be eliminated or you could use a dairy-free cheese, they are more widely available in supermarkets now a days}

-No Nuts

-Suitable for Vegetarians

-Unsuitable for Vegans {You would have to make it Dairy-Free}

 

 

 

Ingredients:

-400g butternut squash, peeled, chopped coarsely {I used 500g of squash, this is the weight after being peeled and chopped}
-500g swiss chard, trimmed, chopped coarsely {I used 400g spring greens, as chard wasn't available in our supermarket this time of year}
-150g angel hair pasta {We had an open packet of Linguine in the cupboard so I used that instead}
-2tbsp olive oil {I used extra virgin}
-1 small leek (200g), sliced thinly
-2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable stock {I think I ended up making one stock cubes worth of stock, which was 190ml and just using all of that}
-2/3 cup (120g) ricotta cheese
-3/4 (180ml) cup cream {I used 150ml tub single cream}
-1+1/2 cups (390g) bottled tomato pasta sauce {I used a bottled tomato and mushroom sauce}
-3/4 cup (75g) coarsely grated pizza cheese {I am unsure what 'pizza' cheese is but I used cheddar}

Method:

1: Preheat oven to moderate 180℃/160℃ fan/355℉/Gas 4.
2: Boil, steam or microwave squash until just tender; boil, steam or microwave chard until slightly wilted. Drain vegetables separately. Mash squash in a small bowl; reserve. Spread chard over sheets of absorbent paper, cover with more absorbent paper, reserve. {I boiled both pf the vegetables, the chard took about 15mins and the squash a bit longer}
3: Meanwhile, cook pasta in a medium saucepan of boiling water, abut 5mins or until just tender; drain. Rinse under cold water; drain.
4: Heat oil in a medium saucepan; cook leek, stirring, about 5mins or until softened. Add squash and stock; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5mins, or until liquid is absorbed.
5: Meanwhile, combine chard in a medium bowl with ricotta and cream
6: Spread squash mixture over the bottom of a 2-litre (8cup) shallow baking dish; cover squash mixture with half of the pasta. Spread sauce over pasta; cover with remaining pasta.
7: Pour chard mixture over pasta, gently spreading to completely cover pasta. {At this point I put my lasagne in the fridge as I was making in advance for tea} Sprinkle pizza cheese all over surface of lasagne.
8: Place lasagne on an oven tray. Bake uncovered, for about 30mins or until lasagne is heated through and cheese is lightly browned. {If you had made the lasagne in advance and kept it in the fridge like me, I didn't top it with cheese straight away. Instead, I put the lasagne in the oven for 10mins to heat through as in the orginal recipe it will still be slightly warm and not need as long to heat through. After that, remove from the oven, top with cheese and bake for another 30mins. Total time: 40mins}