I love lasagne, it’s a real feel good, comfort food for me. I love the pasta sheets, the combination of the layers of food and sauce and the hot bubbliness of it as it comes out of the oven. My mum used to make everything from scratch when we were growing up. So for me a lasagne means making your own white sauce and I sometimes make the pasta too. I remember seeing a jar of white sauce in the supermarket for the first time and being completely surprised by it, I had no idea you could buy jars of sauce!
Which leaves me in a dilemma. I don’t like the idea of buying that jar of white sauce – and can’t as it has wheat in it… but I don’t always have the time, energy or love of washing up to make the whole lot from scratch. Plus lasagane is not the healthiest of meals with all that yummy sauce and cheese. So lasagne as fallen into a “need the time and energy to cook it” “special occasion/weekend kinda meal. With 2 small children I don’t get those type of moments often…so we don’t get lasagne often. Which makes me sad.
UNTIL NOW. Enter cottage cheese. My saviour. This makes a quick, healthy white sauce that works much better than I had ever anticipated. Lasagne, whipped up in 30 minutes with a lot less hassle. Making it with veggies rather than meat means the whole family gets their veggies into them making me a happy dietitian. Altogether a much healthier version of lasagne and so this is back on the menu!
THE VERDICT. Hubby who is the real lasagne taste tester said it worked well and I can make it again. WIN.
Miss K told me it was the best dinner all week. Thats a WIN.
J-boy threw it on the floor without trying it. Fortunately it landed with the plate on the floor, meal intact. He ate his the next day. TEETHING TODDLER ALERT.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 medium aubergine diced
- 1 yellow pepper sliced
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp mixed dried herbs
- 1 tbsp balasamic vinegar
- Black pepper
- 150g mushrooms chopped
- 100g kale
- 250g cottage cheese
- 50ml semi skimmed milk
- 50ml greek yoghurt
- 6-8 gluten free lasagne sheets
- 50g cheddar cheese, grated
- Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes.
- Now add the aubergine and courgette, cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Quickly add in the chopped tomatoes and rinse out with water, add that to the pan too.
- After stirring, bring the pan to a simmer.
- Now as it simmers add the tomato puree, dried herbs, balsamic vinegar and black pepper.
- After it has simmered for 10 minutes add in the mushrooms and kale.
- Leave to simmer for a few more minutes whilst you make the cottage cheese white sauce.
- Mix the cottage cheese, milk and yoghurt to get a thinner sauce.
- Now layer up the lasagne with the vegetable mix on the bottom, pasta sheets, a thin layer of the cottage cheese sauce (about 1/3 of it). Repeat vegetable, pasta and top with all the cottage cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese and put in the oven.
- Cook at Gas Mark 5 for 30-45 minutes, until it is hot and bubbling.