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Healthy No Dairy Pumpkin Lasagne

17 Dec 2019

I made this gorgeous vegan lasagne for our teachers on our Christmas lunch. The pumpkin makes it completely satisfying. The lentils make it completely wholesome. It takes a little time to prep so if you are off work at the moment it’s the perfect time for it. Everyone asked for the recipe. So here it is!

Ingredients

  • 1 Butternut pumpkin (about 1kg), cooked hasselback-style
  • 20 lasagne sheets
  • cooked vegan pesto
  • additional basil and parsley leaves to garnish

FOR THE TOMATO & LENTIL SAUCE:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 200 g (1 cup) black lentils
  • 2 cups water
  • 800 g (2 x 400g thins) chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 6 brown mushrooms
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Pesto

FOR THE WALNUT SPRINKLES:

  • 100 g walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 30 g pine nuts
  • 4 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

Method

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

  1. Place the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the lentils and 500 ml (2 cups) water, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for another 30 minutes, by which point you should have a thick, decent sauce.
  2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

TO MAKE THE WALNUT SPRINKLES:

  1. Lightly toast the walnuts and pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, then transfer to a plate and allow to cool.
  2. Place in a food processor with the nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  3. This will keep in an airtight container for several months.

TO MAKE THE LASAGNE:

  1. In a large deep baking dish, build your lasagne in layer as follows:
    • Layer 1: lasagne sheet / ladlefuls of sauce
    • Layer 2: lasagne sheet / pumpkin / pesto
    • Layer 3: lasagne sheet / 2 ladlefuls of sauce
    • Layer 4: lasagne sheet /pumpkin / pesto
    • Layer 5: lasagne sheet / remaining sauce
  2. Cover with foil and bake in the hot oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes so that the top can get all crispy and crunchy.
  3. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with a simple side salad, a generous scattering of Walnut Sprinkles and some fresh basil and parsley leaves.

NOTE:

To make the hasselback pumpkin, peel the butternut pumpkin, slice it lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Thinly slice the fresh, ensuring not to cut through to the bottom of the pumpkin. Place it on a lined baking tray, flat side down and roast in the oven on 180 degrees celsius until cooked. Once cooked, slice it into pieces.