RECIPE TIME! Jen's awesome vegan lasagna!!

I am a massive fan of lasagne, really really massive. Any type really, it's pretty hard to eff up a lasagne. My mate Jen just posted this recipe on her FB page this evening and it sounded so delicious I had to ask her if i could put it up here! She has recently started her vegetarian/vegan adventure and it has been so wonderful to watch her discover, learn and teach herself this fantastic choice she has made. So proud of her! This is all from scratch so I imagine this is not the last recipe i will be requesting from her. :D

Thanks Jen, one of my oldest and still dearest friends! xxoo

Vegan Lasagne with Cauliflower and Cream Cheese Bechamel Sauce

Cauliflower puree and cream cheese bechamel

                        

3tbs white spelt flour    

3tbs nuttelex spread     

2cups soy milk (warmed slightly)

salt and black pepper

few pinches of nutmeg

quarter head of cauliflower

Lasagne sauce

half a small onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 x large eggplant (sliced round or longways)

3 x medium zucchini

handful of mushrooms (chopped)

1 x carrot (grated)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 jar of pasta sauce or sauce base of your choice

mixed herbs to taste

GF lasagne sheets

1.)                 steam cauliflower until soft, then puree with a dash of milk, salt and pepper

2.)                 melt nuttelex, add pepper and nutmeg, then add flour and make a rouge.

3.)                 Add slowly, whilst whisking, warmed soy milk until bechamel sauce consistency reached.

4.)                 Add cauliflower puree and stir through. Remove off heat and set aside.

5.)                 Saute garlic, mixed herbs and onions in olive oil

6.)                 add carrot and mushroom and stir until soft.

7.)                 Add tin tomatoes and Domlio's sauce

8.)                 Start layering process, sauce, pasta sheets, zucchini, eggplant, then finish with bechamel sauce and bake in oven 180 degrees for 40mins ( do more veggie layers than pasta)

RECIPE TIME! Cauliflower and Broccoli Panagrattato Bake

Cooking with Quinoa (Patten) has a wonderful Cauliflower and Broccoli Panagrattato recipe (pge 101) that I’ve been dying to try for ages. I just couldn’t think of what I could serve it with until a friend suggested a white sauce. That’s when I realised this would be awesome as a baked dish. So I combined this with a cheese free Béchamel sauce I have from another lovely little vegetarian book (Everyday Vegetarian, LOVE FOOD 2010), topped it with vegan cheese and voila! It was delicious! Please enjoy and comment! I would love to hear your suggestions, alterations and ideas! :D

Cauliflower and Broccoli Panagrattato

• ·         Cauliflower
• ·         Broccoli
• ·         5 tbsp. Olive oil
• ·         Garlic – 1-3 cloves chopped, depending on taste
• ·         Shallots (green parts only)
• ·         1 tsp. chilli flakes
• ·         1 cup Quinoa flakes
• ·         Salt and Pepper to taste
• ·         Lemon juice

Béchamel Sauce

• ·         3 cups ‘milk’ (your choice)
• ·         1 bay leaf
• ·         6 black peppercorns
• ·         Slice of onion
• ·   1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• ·         3 tbsp. Butter
• ·         4 tbsp. GF Plain Flour
• ·         Salt and pepper

• ·         Grated vegan cheese
• ·         2 tomato’s sliced

Preheat oven to 200C. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets, cook in boiled salted water until cooked but still crisp. Drain but keep a little of the water.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the garlic, shallots and chili until soft and starting to change colour. Stir in the quinoa flakes until it starts to toast. Add a little extra oil if it’s a little dry, flakes need to take on some colour.

Add the cooked vegetables and water; toss well to combine then season with salt and pepper. Put these aside while preparing the Béchamel sauce.

To make the Béchamel sauce, heat the milk, nutmeg, peppercorns and bay leaf until just below boiling point. Then remove from heat, cover and infuse for ten minutes then strain. Melt the butter in a smaller pan and add the flour slowly, stirring to make sure the lumps stay away. Then slowly stir in the milk, bringing to the boil, stirring until thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper

Add the vegetables to the Béchamel sauce and mix well together then pour into a baking dish, sprinkle with grated vegan cheese and cover with sliced tomato. Bake for 30-45 mins on 180C. Serve with a sprinkle of lemon juice over each serve.

References:

Everyday Vegetarian 2010, LOVE FOOD, pge 104, ISBN: 978-1-4054-9399-4

Cooking with Quinoa 2011, Rena Patten, pge 101, ISBN: 978-1-7425-7055-6