Vegetarian Lasagne

Vegetarian Lasagne

Ihsan has been looking for a nice and healthy version of lasagne. A good reason to eat veggies yet low in fat. After doing some research, I found this vegetarian lasagne, and if you look at the ingredients, they try to make it as low fat as possible! So here you go Ihsan! Hope this will become popular and give your housemates their weekly dose of fibre!


Ingredients
1 bunch spinach, washed and stalks removed (500 g)
200 g instant durum wheat lasagne sheets
10 ml (2 t) grated Parmesan cheese
125 ml (½ c) grated, low-fat mozzarella cheese

Vegetable sauce
5 ml (1 t) canola or olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
250 g (1 punnet) mushrooms, sliced
½ small green pepper (capsicum), seeded and chopped
1 x 410 g tin mixed beans, drained
1 x 410 g tin tomatoes with juice, mashed
5 ml (1 t) dried mixed herbs

Cheese sauce
5 ml light margerine(reduced fat margerine)
375 ml (1½ cup) low-fat milk
20 g flour
60 g low-fat cheese
pinch of ground nutmeg
a pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Lightly steam the spinach until just wilted, then drain well.

2 For the vegetable sauce, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.

3 Add the mushrooms and green pepper and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes and herbs. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4 For the cheese sauce, melt the margarine, and stir in the milk.

5 In a 500 ml glass bowl or jug, mix the flour with 45 ml (3T) water to a smooth paste. Remove the hot milk from the heat and gradually add the milk, 45 ml (3T) at a time, to the flour paste, stirring after each addition until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the saucepan.

6 Return to heat and stir until sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

7 To assemble, pour half the vegetable sauce over the base of a lasagne dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, then half the spinach. Spread half the cheese sauce over the spinach. Top with remaining vegetable sauce and lasagne sheets. Cover with remaining spinach and finish with the remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

8 Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 45 minutes to 1 hour until bubbly and brown.