Mediterranean Lasagne with Cashew Bechamel
With the days getting colder and the nights drawings in, who doesn’t need a vibrant lasagne to bring in the cosy vibes?
I don’t know about you but during these darker early evenings, I often lack the motivation to cook from scratch and would rather curl up on the sofa with the girls and watch frozen on repeat. It’s on evenings like these that I thank you Charlie of the past for preparing this lasagne ahead of time so I can simply lift it from the freezer, straight into the oven and 1 hour later we have a home cooked family meal!
This recipe serves 6 hungry people but could easily be split this recipe into 3 smaller dishes for 3 meals for 2 people, popped in the freezer for a sofa cuddle kind of evening.
This lasagne is not like a traditional lasagne as it is made completely with bechamel rather than tomato sauce. The cashew nuts combined with miso paste and nutritional yeast give this dish a rich and creamy flavour.
Give it a go and let me know how you got on. Enjoy!
Mediterranean Lasagne with Cashew Bechamel
Serves 6 as a main
Ingredients:
Mediterranean Roasted Veg:
1 aubergine, chopped into 2cm chunks
2 courgette, chopped into 2cm chunks
500g cherry tomatoes, whole
1 yellow pepper, chopped into 2cm pieces
1 large onion, diced into 2cm chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g basil, torn
2 tbsp capers
4 tbsp olive oil, for roasting
Salt & pepper to taste
Cashew Bechamel:
300g cashews
750ml soy milk
2 garlic cloves
10g miso
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
To Assemble:
250g Lasagne sheets (half a box)
Nutritional yeast as garnish
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
Start by roasting your veg. Add chopped onion, pepper, aubergine and courgette to a roasting tray with crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Roast for 45 minutes until lightly charred.
Meanwhile add all the bechamel ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Set aside for later.
Once your veg is roasted, remove from the oven and stir through basil and capers. You’re now ready to assemble.
Start by adding a cup of bechamel to the bottom of your lasagne dish, followed by a layer of lasagne sheets, then a layer of roasted veg (1/2) and then another cup of bechamel.
Repeat this process again. Lasagne sheets, remaining half of roasted veg and 1 cup of bechamel.
Finally add the final layer of lasagne sheets followed by the remaining 2 cups of bechamel, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and bake in the oven for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling around the edges.
Serve immediately or cool and freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy!