Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne
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- Serves: 6
- Preparation: 15
- Cooking: 70
- Ready: 85
This lasagne dish is creamy and delicious, and the squash gives it a slight sweet kick.
Ingredients
- 750 g butternut squash, cut into ½ cm slices
- 3 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 cm slices
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 80 g vegan butter
- 70 g plain flour
- 800 ml soya milk
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 150 g vegan cheddar cheese, grated
- 200 g artichoke hearts from a jar or can, sliced
- 60 g vegan parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 250 g vegan fresh lasagne sheets
- 75 g baby spinach leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper. Divide the butternut squash slices between two baking trays in a single layer. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over each tray and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.
Lay the mushrooms on the remaining tray. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make a cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in the milk until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Stir in the nutmeg, nutritional yeast, cheddar cheese and artichoke hearts. Add half the parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
Spread a thin layer of the sauce on the base of a deep 25 x 30cm baking dish to prevent the pasta sticking to the base. Lay a quarter of the lasagne sheets over the top and ladle a quarter of the sauce over. Spread out evenly and lay the butternut squash from one tray over the sauce.
Add another layer of pasta and a quarter of the sauce. Spread out evenly, then add the cooked mushrooms in a single layer. Add another layer of pasta, followed by a quarter of the sauce. Lay the remaining butternut squash over the sauce and spread the baby spinach leaves over the top.
Lastly, add the remaining lasagne sheets. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Cook in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes, then serve.
Additional notes
Recipe taken from Feed Me Vegan by Lucy Watson, published by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group Ltd.
“This dish has to be one of my favourites as I’m a huge pasta lover. It’s creamy and delicious, the squash gives it a slight sweet kick and the béchamel sauce tastes just the same as the non-vegan kind. I was apprehensive about recreating lasagne as so many of the ingredients aren’t vegan-friendly, but it turned out to be a huge success. You’ll be happy (and maybe even surprised) to know that most lasagne sheets are actually vegan, which makes things a lot easier. I dare you to serve this to someone and see if they even notice it’s vegan!”
