Vegetable lasagne

Caroline Marson: Food writer

This recipe can be doubled up and prepared in advance or frozen in individual portions. If you have trouble getting your children to eat vegetables, cut them into smaller dice and they often won't know they are there. You could use most vegetables that need using up from the fridge such as broccoli, carrot, butternut squash, cabbage, cauliflower, marrow, leeks, babycorn, sweetcorn, peas... the list goes on.

Ingredients: serves 8 - 10

2 tbsp olive oil
4 onions (peeled and finely chopped)
4 small courgettes (diced into 1 inch cubes)
2 small peppers (cored and cut into 1 inch squares)
300 g butternut squash (peeled and cut into chunks)
2 large leeks (cut into discs, optional)
2 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
800 g chopped tomatoes
salt
freshly ground pepper
600 ml water (or vegetable stock)
80 g butter
70 g plain flour
1.2 litres milk
1 tsp mustard
250 g cheddar cheese (grated)
450 g pasta lasagne sheets (pre-cooked)
pumpkin seeds (grated)
8 tbsp tomato puree

Method:

Preheat the oven 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease a deep ovenproof dish, or individual dishes with a little oil.
In a frying pan cook the onions, courgettes, peppers, butternut squash, leeks (if using) and garlic in the remaining oil for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes, tomato puree, seasoning and water or stock. Bubble for 10-15 minutes.
To make the sauce, place butter, flour, milk and mustard in a small saucepan and whisk continuously over a medium heat until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. Turn down the heat to its lowest and let the sauce cook for 2 minutes. Add the grated cheese.
Into the baking dish pour one quarter of the white sauce, followed by one third of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle in a third of the cheese and follow this with a single layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat this process, ending up with a final layer of sauce and a good sprinkling of cheese and the pumpkin seeds for added crunch.
Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Recipe tips:

Try buying your vegetables loose so you can buy exactly how much you need.