Classic vegetarian lasagne
Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Classic vegetarian lasagne
Everything that we love about a classic lasagne, but we’re swapping out the beef and pork for mushrooms and aubergine. The charred aubergine adds a lovely ‘meaty’ texture, while the mushrooms and Marmite amp up the umami in the ragù
Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
682Kcal
Fat
32gr
Saturates
16gr
Carbs
65gr
Sugars
15gr
Fibre
8gr
Protein
30gr
Salt
0.9gr
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
See more of Spencer Lengsfield’s recipes
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
See more of Spencer Lengsfield’s recipes
Ingredients
For the veggie ragù
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 large aubergine
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 2 sticks celery, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 x 300g pack chestnut mushrooms, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Marmite
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 bay leaf
For the lasagne
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g plain flour
- 500ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 500g lasagne sheets (fresh or dried)
- 300g low-moisture mozzarella (we used Galbani Cucina), grated
- 50g Italian-style hard cheese, finely grated*
Step by step
- Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl, pour over 300ml just-boiled water and set aside to soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, char the whole aubergine, either over the flame of a gas hob or under the oven grill. Cook the aubergine until soft on the inside and the skin is charred all over on the outside. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Stir in the chestnut mushrooms, season well, and cook until just tender. Add the tomato purée and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Deglaze with the porcini mushrooms and their soaking water, then tip in the chopped tomatoes. Stir in the vinegar, Marmite, sugar and bay leaf. Reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, remove the charred skin from the aubergine and roughly chop the soft flesh. Stir into the sauce for the final 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6 and prepare the béchamel (white sauce). Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk together for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and gradually whisk in the milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer over a low heat for 3-5 minutes or until just thickened, then remove from the heat.
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To assemble the lasagne, spread a thin layer of the veggie ragù over the bottom of a large oven dish (about 33cm x 25cm). Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, followed by a more generous layer of ragù. Top with a layer of béchamel and a scattering of the grated mozzarella. Repeat to use up the remaining elements, finishing with a final layer of béchamel and mozzarella. Sprinkle with the Italian hard cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly. If it browns too quickly, cover with foil. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
*Check your hard cheese is vegetarian, if required.
