Speedy Plant-Based Lasagne

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400 g tin whole peeled tomatoes
• 500 g veggie mince (e.g. Linda McCartney’s Vegemince)
• 400 g pre-cooked puy or green lentils, tinned or from a packet
• 3 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 small bunch (roughly 10 g) chopped parsley
• 8 lasagne sheets

For the béchamel

• 30 g plant-based butter or spread
• 30 g (2 tablespoons) plain flour
• 500 ml – 600 ml oat milk
• 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Optional

• sprinkle of grated plant-based cheese to top
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

This lasagne should be prepared in a large oven-proof frying pan or cast-iron skillet, around 30 cm wide ­­– though if you have one slightly smaller or bigger, that will work too. Ensure that you have a lid or suitable cover.

On a medium heat, add the olive oil to the pan and, once hot, add the onion and garlic. Stir well before adding the fennel seeds and a pinch of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and starting to go translucent.

Add the chopped tomatoes and whole peeled tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon. Fill one of the tins with water (400 ml), swilling it around to rinse the tomato residue from the tin and tip it into the pan.

Add the veggie mince, cooked lentils, tomato puree and chopped parsley. Season with salt and cook for 10 minutes.

Nestle the lasagne sheets into the pan, overlapping them and breaking them if necessary to create lots of little layers. Press them down with the back of a spoon so that the tomato sauce covers the top of the sheets and comes up around the edges.

Put the lid on, turn down the heat as low as it will go and let this sit for 10 minutes.

Melt the plant-based butter or spread in a small saucepan before adding the plain flour and stirring to make a paste. Add a little oat milk, whisking it well until it thickens. Gradually add a little more oat milk, then repeat, whisking the whole time. Continue until the oat milk is used up and the béchamel is creamy and thick. Add nutritional yeast and Dijon mustard. Though this makes it a little lumpy, it’s a worthy sacrifice for the flavour it brings to the dish. Add a pinch of salt and set aside.

By now, the pasta sheets should have softened and begun to absorb the sauce. Using a large spoon, spread the béchamel on top of the lasagne in a thick and even layer. You will inevitably mix some of this with the tomato sauce but that’s not a problem. Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper and a little vegan cheese if you like.

Put the lasagne under a pre-heated grill for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on this if your grill is particularly powerful.

Let the lasagne sit for 5 minutes or so before diving in. Enjoy!