vegetarian lasagne and salads galore!

Vegetarian Lasagne:

Tomato sauce:

1 onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 tin tomatoes

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon bbq sauce

2 Tablespoons dried oregano

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 cup soy granules, cooked

½ cup black eyed peas, cooked

½ cup split orange lentils, cooked

S+p

Olive oil

1 large eggplant, cut into rounds

2 zucchinis, cut into ribbons on a mandolin (don’t slice your thumb open like I did. YOUCH! ... lesson learned: use the guard.)

½ red capsicum, sliced

4 large swiss mushrooms, sliced

1 leek, finely sliced

1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped

6 instant lasagne sheets (or enough to make 2 layers)

Tomato sauce:

Take a big sauce pan and add olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook until softened.

Add in tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, red wine vinegar, bbq sauce, oregano and basil. Stir until all combined. Reduce slightly.

Add in soy granules, black eyed peas, lentils and season to taste. (this makes it almost “meaty” and fills it out a lot)

At this point I end up adding in an array of ingredients and go with whatever I am feeling at the time. I added bbq sauce this time because I didn’t have vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and it was the closest thing to it that I could see!

Season with quite a lot of salt and pepper. This is going to be the flavour base for the entire lasagne so you want it to be almost over-seasoned.

For the vegetables:

Cut eggplant into thick rounds, lay flat on baking tray and salt. Leave for 20-30 mins to bring out bitterness. Thoroughly rinse eggplant and squeeze dry.

Lay eggplant, zucchini and capsicum on baking trays and top with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 200C for 20-30 mins  or until tender.

I like to fry the rest of the vegetables separately as they all cook at different times. Set up a little production line of bowls and individually fry the mushrooms, then remove. The leek, then remove. The spinach, then remove. This may seem like a lot of spinach but it makes up a big hefty layer on the top of the lasagne and is delicious and good for you!

Combine:

I used approximately a 15x25cm baking dish. To form the lasagne, spread a thin base of the tomato sauce mixture, then lasagne sheets. Then add layers from the base up of eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, mushroom, leek and spinach. Add a little more of the tomato sauce, then lasagne sheets and finish with a thick layer of tomato sauce and grated cheese if you like. I usually add toasted sesame seeds too as it gives a yummy nutty yumminess on top!

Makes one large lasagne. Serve with salad.

Coleslaw:

½ cabbage, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 onion, grated

1 sweet apple, grated

½ red capsicum, finely sliced

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons mayo

1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 teaspoons dried tarragon

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

Pepper

¼ cup oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil to incorporate. Mix everything together.

This is a very tasty coleslaw if i do say so myself! I wanted a non-mayo one but didn’t have enough ingredients/ideas to come up with one. This become quite light mixing in the extra oil instead of using an all mayo base.

4 bean salad:

1 can 3 bean mix

1 can soy beans

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ cup olive oil

1 garlic clove

Salt

Use any beans for this salad. I’ve always been a big fan of bean salads – something so bland in taste becomes so amazing in an instant! (or possibly an hour or two marinating) Whisk together all ingredients except beans and then add beans. EASY AS PIE. This salad definitely benefits from a couple of hours in the fridge to develop flavours.

Potato salad:

10 baby potatoes, just a minute before boiled perfectly!

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup sliced leek, finely sliced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, pulverised (fo serious, no one likes big twigs in their salad! I used a spice grinder to make it almost a powder)

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

This recipe is a WINNER! I took the concept of cooking these as if I were making roast potatoes but instead of eating them hot – i cooled them down and ate them as a salad. Super full of flavour.

In a pan fry garlic and leek in the olive oil. Use a good olive oil as it is basically the sauce for the spuddies. Add in the rosemary and almost cooked potatoes and toss. Fry for  few minutes and then transfer to a baking dish and grill for 10 minutes until the outside is a little crisp.

Remove from oven and while still hot add lemon juice, spring onion and salt and pepper. Leave to cool in the fridge and be amazed at the flavours that emerge!

nomnomnom then sleep.