There’s nothing quite as warming as a bubbling lasagna straight from the oven to make an Italian meal complete. The smell of fresh herbs and the rich aroma from the sauce are typical of Italian home cooking. Lasagna is traditionally made with a rich Bolognese meat sauce, but vegetarians can enjoy lasagna with a tasty alternative based on a simple variation of the best tomato sauce for pasta, and using the easy all-in-one béchamel sauce method to produce a smooth tasty white sauce to build up the layers between the pasta.
Preparing the Sauces
Before you begin cooking, grease a large lasagna dish with butter and set it aside as you prepare the sauces that will make up the lasagna.
The Vegetable Sauce
The vegetable sauce is based on a simple variation of the best tomato sauce for pasta. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A tablespoon or two of olive oil
- Half an onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed or chopped
- 1 large courgette (zucchini)
- 200 grams mushrooms
- 1 tin/carton (400 grams) Italian chopped tomatoes
- 250 grams passata (sieved tomatoes)
- Two tablespoons of tomato puree
- Salt and freshly milled black pepper
- Dried or fresh basil
Method
- Splash the olive oil into the bottom of a medium sized saucepan and place it over a medium heat. When it is hot add the chopped onion. You can test how hot it is by dropping in one or two small pieces of onion – if it sizzles straight away then the oil is hot enough! Easy!
- Turn the heat down a little and gently soften the onion in the pan, stirring it around regularly with a wooden spoon to prevent it sticking. Keeping it moving will also help to prevent it burning which adds a bitter flavour to the sauce. When the onion has softened, about 5 minutes or so, add the chopped garlic. Garlic burns much more easily than onion so keep the heat low and stir it all around well for a couple of minutes.
- Dice the courgette and slice the mushrooms and add to the pan. Season the vegetables very lightly as they sweat with just a little salt, pepper and basil to help give them a fuller flavour. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes to soften them.
- Next, add the entire tin of chopped tomatoes, the 250 grams of passata (about half a carton) and the tomato puree. Give this a good stir to mix everything together. You can raise the heat a little at this stage to bring the sauce to simmering point, but turn it down low again once it is simmering. Add some further seasoning: some dried basil – about half a teaspoon should be enough – and season to taste with a decent pinch of salt and 4 to 6 turns of the pepper mill (be careful not to overdo this though). If you are using fresh basil tear a few leaves into the sauce only at the end of the cooking period
- The sauce needs to simmer gently for only about 10 to 15 minutes, but remember to stir occasionally.
The Bechamel Sauce
When the vegetable sauce is ready, prepare a quantity of the easiest all-in-one bechamel sauce recipe according to the instructions. When this has thickened to the desired consistency, you're ready to make up your lasagna.
Making the Vegetable Lasagna
- Place a thin layer of approximately a third of the vegetable sauce in the bottom of the dish. Gently shake it from side to side to even it out.
- Place a layer of lasagna sheets over the vegetables, then pour about a third of the béchamel sauce over the lasagna. Spread it out gently with the back of a spoon to make sure it is covering all the pasta.
- Add a further third of the vegetables in an even layer over the béchamel sauce, then another layer of lasagna sheets.
- Repeat the process of layering your lasagna, finishing with a layer of béchamel.
- Pop the lasagna into a preheated oven at about 180 degrees Celsius for around 30 minutes.
Tips
You might like to try a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan over the final layer of béchamel. This gives a tasty crust on the sauce.
Sit the lasagna dish on a metal oven tray to catch any drips from the dish as it cooks. This will save you having to clean the bottom of your oven afterwards – a job no one likes to do.
Serve with a simple green salad and a nice glass of Italian wine such as Chianti.
Alasdair Smith - Scottish-based education, travel, family-history and food writer with a passion for all things French and Italian.
