Tag: cheese

Vegetarian Lasagne

Today I’m going to share a great vegetarian lasagne recipe I found in an old Australian Healthy Food magazine.

We have just returned from a quick get-away in Melbourne. The food at all the little cafés and restaurants is always great.

We went to this out of the way little Italian place and had the best lasagne and tortellini. Though these were not vegetarian dishes it did remind me of this recipe and I thought I would share it.

This Vegetarian Lentil and Ricotta lasagne is full of flavour, quite filling and is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet. I halved the below recipe and it fed 2 people for 2 nights.

Vegetarian Red Lentil and Ricotta Lasagne.

Ingredients

½ cup red lentils

2 teaspoon Olive oil

3 garlic cloves – crushed

1 large onion – chopped

1 small red capsicum (**I left this out as we don’t like capsicum)

**I added sliced mushrooms instead

2 zucchinis – sliced

1 stalk celery – sliced

2 x 420g cans diced tomatoes

2 tablespoon. tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ cups ricotta cheese

12 lasagne sheets (I use Gluten Free sheets)

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

 

White Sauce ingredients

1/3  cup corn flour

3 cups milk

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

 

Method

*Preheat oven to 180 c.

*Rinse the lentils then put them in a pan with enough boiling water to cover them. Simmer for 30 minutes then drain.

*Heat oil in a large pan and add garlic & onion. Cook for approx. 2 minutes. Add the celery, capsicum and zucchini and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

*Add lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and 1 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approx. 30 minutes.

*Meanwhile make the White Sauce.

*Mixing the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Pour into a saucepan with remaining milk and stir over low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the nutmeg and add pepper to taste.

*Put the ricotta into a bowl and mix in ½ cup of white sauce.

*Spread a layer of tomato lentil mixture over the base of your lasagna dish. Then put a layer of lasagna sheet. Add another layer of tomato lentil mixture and top with a layer of the ricotta mix.

*Keep layering the lasagna sheets and then tomato and ricotta layers till done.

*Pour over the white sauce and sprinkle with the grated cheeses.

*Bake for an hour, covering with foil if the top starts to brown too much.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy.

Till the next post,

Live Clean and Prosper

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry, a recipe

Today I’m sharing a favourite recipe – Cheesy Cauliflower Curry.

This last week has been so busy with work and other commitments, I’m glad I got back into meal planning. It was really helpful having meal ideas bookmarked, knowing that all the ingredients were in the fridge and pantry.

The original recipe for this dish comes from a book called ‘The Inspired Vegetarian’, that I received from a very dear friend.

We are still endeavouring to eat more of a plant-based diet. So with that in mind, this is an easy recipe to create and is a repeat winner according to Scott. Though not good for anyone on a ‘dairy free’ diet, it is a very tasty dish and quite filling.

As per his suggestion, I am sharing it with you today.

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients,

1 medium sized Cauliflower, cut into small florets.

1 medium onion, diced

2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

3 tbsp plain, gluten free flour

2 tbsp margarine or butter

1 tsp curry powder (I used 2)

2 cups milk

100 g grated cheese

½ tsp thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp of toasted pepitas (or if you prefer – a handful of ‘soup croutons’ )

Method

*Sauté the onion and put aside into an ovenproof dish.

*Steam the cauliflower till just tender. Drain and add to ovenproof dish, mixing with the onion.

*Scatter over chopped egg.

*Put flour, curry powder, butter into a saucepan and mix well.

*Slowly add milk, mixing till the sauce thickens.

*Add chopped herbs and allow to simmer for a minute or two, to allow the flavours to develop.

*Remove from Heat and stir in ¾ of the cheese.

*Pour the sauce over the cauliflower mix and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

*Scatter the pepitas (or croutons) over the top and put the dish in the oven under a hot grill until golden.

 

We ate this as a main meal, however it would also work well as a side dish.

 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

 

Till the next post,

 

 

Live Clean n Prosper

My Zucchini Bake or Slice recipe

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Today I’m going to share another recipe. Last night Scott and I got together with a group of friends and I brought along a Zucchini Bake, sliced to share. I received a number of requests to post the recipe today, so here we go.

This Zucchini bake can be made gluten free, it is a healthy meal option and is great for lunch boxes.

The recipe is easy to make and is one way to get children (or fussy adults) to eat vegetables. You can substitute or add different vegetables depending on your preferences. However, I think Zucchini should always be included for the bake to work.

Nutritionally, the Zucchini is one of the very low-calorie vegetables and its peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre. Zucchinis are an excellent source of potassium, and also contain moderate levels of the B-complex group of vitamins.

Ingredients

3 x medium sized zucchinis

2 x medium carrots

1/2 onion or 2 spring onions finely chopped

2 x rashers of bacon finely chopped

(alternatively, I have made this using chicken and also tuna)

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1 x tbsp mixed herbs

a little bit of chilli or peppers gives a nice bite

1 x garlic clove – crushed

1 x tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour (I use coconut flour)

5 x large eggs

extra grated cheese to sprinkle on the top

 

Method

First preheat your oven to 180c

I use a grater attachment on my food processor to quickly grate the zucchini and carrots. If I don’t have grated cheese, I put  a small piece of cheese in as well.

Put the grated ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, herbs and mix together.

Add the eggs, oil and flour and mix to combine. Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.

At the 30 or 35 minute mark, sprinkle the extra grated cheese on the top of the slice and return it to the oven.

This bake works really well as a main meal. We cut it into 6 large pieces and serve it with a salad. It also is great as a slice to share , as it tastes equally good cold. Just let it cool a bit before cutting it into squares.

It’s really easy to swap out the meat ingredients or add extra ingredients. Mushrooms and cauliflower also work well. If I add cauliflower, I only put in 1 carrot. The trick is to get the right balance of vegetables and eggs, otherwise it won’t hold together. I have found this out by experience.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have fun putting your own spin on it.

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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