Mushroom lasagne

Serves: 6
Course: Dinner
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Prep Time: 20 mins
Ingredients
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 80g celery, diced
  • 250g carrots, diced
  • ½ red or yellow pepper, diced
  • 300g mushrooms, mixed, sliced
  • 50ml white or red wine
  • 1 x tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
  • 300g cottage cheese
  • 50g Parmesan, grated
  • 1 egg
  • Grating of nutmeg
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves
  • 1 pack fresh lasagne sheets

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan. Add the onion and saute for 5-8 minutes till softened. Add the garlic and stir for a minute before adding the peppers, celery and carrots. Stir well and place the lid on. Leave to cook for five minutes, then decant into a bowl.

3. Add a little more oil to the pan and increase the heat. Tip in the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes till turning golden. Add the chopped vegetables and wine. Simmer for a minute to burn off the alcohol before adding the chopped tomatoes and tomato pesto. Season with black pepper and salt to taste. Place the lid on and simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Lilly Higgins: It’s an umami-packed, herb-scented mushroom feast that the entire family will love

4. Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Blitz the cottage cheese, half the Parmesan, nutmeg and egg together till smooth. I use a mini chopper for this but a stick blender or nutribullet works too. Finely chop four basil leaves and stir them through the creamy cheese sauce.

5. Place a third of the mushroom ragu in the base of an ovenproof dish. Add a few dollops of the cheese sauce and a layer of lasagne sheets. Next, add two more meat layers and more lasagne sheets, topping with the remaining cheese sauce. Scatter the remaining Parmesan over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling up the sides and the pasta is cooked through. Serve with a green salad.

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a food writer