JON'S LUSHIOUS VEGGIE LASAGNE

It's a lovely spring afternoon over at MattyB Bakes, it's also a Friday and to top it off Jon has been in the kitchen rustling up a great taste of Italy. It's lasagne night tonight! What I think is great about a lasagne is that it's something you can prepare early in the day and then leave to one side whilst you get on with your day before popping into the oven when it's dinner time. You could even make it the day before if you and free your whole day up, if you can hold out from eating it for that long.

This lasagne is of course veggie friendly so there is no mince - the bulk of the lasagne comes from mushrooms, roasted red peppers and big chunks of melted mozzarella, one of my favourite cheeses especially when it goes all gooey and stringy! Feel free to add some mince with the onions when making the tomato sauce if you have hungry carnivores in your house, just make sure you break it up and that it is cooked right through.

For a final finishing flair Jon has added some left over bits of tortilla chips that we had left in the kitchen. This gives an added layer of crunch to the top of the lasagne and we all know the crispy edges of the lasagne are the best bit don't we! If you don't have any then don't worry it's still just as delicious without or you can use golden bread crumbs instead. 

For an added flavor burst you can add all different kids of mushrooms into the mix so along with your standard garden and button mushrooms you could add morels, chestnut mushrooms or anything your lucky enough to find at your local market or green grocers. Turn your lasagne into a veritable mushroom medley if you please!

Forgo the ready made sauces and give this from scratch lasagne a go. I enjoyed it very much and I'm sure you will too.

VEGGIE LASAGNE

2 Tsp Butter

1 Tsp Olive Oil

1 400g Sliced Mushrooms

1 Tsp Thyme

4 Cloves Of Grated Garlic

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Chopped Medium Onion

Splash Of Red Wine

2 400g Can Of Chopped Tomatoes

1 Chopped Medium Onion

1 Tsp Chili Flakes

1 Tsp Oregano

Pepper and Sugar To Season

Lasagne Sheets

1 Jar Of Roasted Red Peppers (Chopped)

2 Large Mozzarella Balls

100g Grated Cheddar Cheese

Handful Of Broken Tortilla Crisps

You will also need some foil for baking!

1. Get your oven to a toasty 200 degrees (180 fan)
2. On a medium heat, melt the butter and oil in a saucepan until they start to foam. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes.
3. Add the thyme and cook for 1 minute before adding 1 of the grated garlic cloves and salt and cook for a further 1 minute. Tip
   
   the mushroom mixture into a bowl and leave to one side.
4. In a same pan add the onions and a splash of red wine to deglaze the pan.
5. Once the onions are softened add the two cans of chopped tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
6. Add the remaining three grated garlic cloves, chili flakes, oregano and season with the black pepper. Leave everything to simmer for around 20 minutes, adding a pinch of sugar at the end.
   
   
7. Take the tomato mix off the heat and leave to cool for a moment. Use a blender to pulse the tomato mix to a paste like consistency, leaving some chunks of tomatoes for texture.
8. In an oven proof dish, ladle in two spoons of the tomato sauce and use this to coat the base of the dish.
9.  Cover this with enough lasagne sheets to cover the base and on top of this add some of the mushroom mix along with some of the
   
   roasted red peppers, some more spoons of the tomato sauce and some torn pieces of the mozzarella balls.
10. Continue step 8 until all your mushrooms, tomato sauce, peppers and mozzarella have been used, leaving a top uncovered layer sans lasagne sheets.
11. Sprinkle over half the Cheddar cheese and the tortilla pieces before finishing off with a small pinch of some more thyme and
    
    oregano
12. Cover with foil and place in the oven for around 45 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle over the rest of the Cheddar cheese before placing back in the oven without the foil for 15 minutes to crisp up.
13. Remove from the oven and rest for around ten minutes before serving.

Serve with some of Jon's Garlictastic Bread - the perfect accompaniment.

When layering the lasagne, look at the size of your dish and the amount of ingredients you have. Jon got about 4 layers for the rectangular dish used in the picture. I think you would get about three in a larger square dish but then more layers if you do add mince into the mix. Use your judgement and make sure you don't run out of fillings as you near the end.

Pour a glass a wine and tuck in - that's what spring Friday evenings are all about

Buon Appetito!