Just another manic Monday….
…or Wednesday. Most busy families have at least one evening a week that involves everyone needing to be in different places at different times with a disparate set of feeding slots which all need to be catered for by the chief cook, bottle washer and taxi driver. This recipe for a roasted vegetable lasagne is perfect. It tastes just as good hot, cold or somewhere in between and is easy to reheat for those who like it piping hot. Before our veggie regime came into force, lasagne had become a rare treat as the combination of red meat and cheese rendered calorie and fat levels uncomfortably high for an everyday meal.
The absence of meat does not detract from the flavour, whilst the abundance of vegetables and minimal amount of carbs when compared to a pasta dish with sauce (75 grams is never enough!) mean that you can luxuriate in the rich cheesy element with no guilt. You need the protein and dairy fats are good, so the latest news leads us to believe.
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This recipe uses a pint of skimmed milk and is more than enough cheese sauce to make a triple layered lasagne for 4 adults, for just 200 calories and 3.5g of saturated fats per portion. It is also lovely with the addition of some gently softened onions and mushrooms and a load of sweetcorn bunged in to give a healthy take on Mac n cheese: use wholegrain pasta to lower the GI and cover with a layer of halved cherry tomatoes before baking to add a delicious sweet topping and slip in another of your five a day. Cheese sauce is also great as a base for a fish pie.
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- 60g g Flora Light 190 cals
- 60 g Plain flour 205 cals
- 1 pt Skimmed milk 210 cals
- 60 g Lighter mature cheddar 195 cals
- 320 g Finely chopped onions
- 3 400g tin Chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Dried mixed herbs
- 20 squirts Fry Light
- 700 g Peppers, courgettes, aubergines, mushrooms and squash...
- Melt the flora and mix in the flour and cook through for a couple of minutes before adding the heated milk gradually and stirring until thickened. Add the cheese.
- Cook onions for at least half an hour till velvety smooth, add herbs and tomatoes bring to a simmer and cook to a lovely thick consistency.
- While your onions sweat, prepare all the other vegetables whilst also preheating your oven to 180 degrees. Dice them quite small (1cm ish), pop them in a large baking tray with ½ tblsp olive oil, a good pinch of salt and a generous amount of fresh thyme, stalks and all. Mix with your hands and roast for ½ hour, removing thyme stalks before mixing with tomato base.
- Choose a good deep dish to layer up the lasagne starting with veggie mix, then lasagne followed by more veggies and a layer of cheese sauce. Repeat twice. Grate some Parmesan over the top and roast for 40 minutes or so, again at 180 degrees.