Delicious Fusion Lasagne with Middle Eastern Spices

This lasagne is so delicious and comforting on any occasion. It has a lovely twist to the traditional Italian flavours. The middle eastern spices adds warmth and depth to the dish. The eggplant and sweet potato also compliments the tomato Veef and brings extra flavour and texture. Furthermore, the lentils adds another element to this fusion of Italian and Middle Eastern dish.

I decided to use store bought organic tomato pasta sauce and passata. It saves time and a load of washing up! These days, I find there is always an organic choice in these products. This is great when making recipes. I can not make the sauces for the same price.

This recipe does make good 12 slices of lasagne. If there are leftovers it is perfect for work lunches. It does keep well in the fridge for about 4-5 days and is suitable to freeze.

Have a look at my homemade video below

Ingredients

Tomato Veef Filling

• 1/2 cup dried french lentils
• 2 cups TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
• 2 cups boiled vegetable stock
• 1 small onion
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1.5 tablespoons middle eastern spice
• 1 jar passata 700g
• 1 jar bolognaise tomato sauce 500g
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup/coconut sugar
• Salt and Pepper

Extra layers

• 1 packet dry lasagne sheets
• 600g sweet potato
• 3-400g eggplant

White Sauce

• 125g vegan butter
• 1 cup plain flour
• 4 -4.5 cups rice milk/plant based milk
• 2/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Vegan cheese/feta/nutritional yeast

Method

Firstly pre heat oven to 170 degrees (fan forced) and place baking paper on two trays. Prepare vegetables – peel sweet potatoes and slice them length ways, about 2cm thick. Place on a tray and drizzle with some oil and salt. Slice the eggplant length ways too, 2cm thick and place on a tray with oil and salt. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes

Pre pare and cook the 1/2 cup of dried lentils as per the directions on the packet. Once cooked let them cool down a little.

Grease a large baking dish with a little oil or baking spray (24cm W 34cmL 8cmH)

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees (fan forced).

Veef Mixture

Pour TVP in a bowl and cover it with the boiling vegetable stock. You have two options. First, boil the kettle. Pour the water over some powdered stock and mix together. Second, use a premixed vegetable stock. Heat it up in a saucepan on the stove, now add the TVP. Let the mixture stand until the TVP has absorbed the stock, around 15 minutes.

First, heat up a large frypan. Add a splash of oil. Then, add the diced onion and garlic. Stir until the onion is soft. Add the TVP and middle eastern spice, stir for a few minutes to heat up the spices. Pour in the passata, tomato pasta sauce, maple/coconut sugar, cooked lentils and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let the veef mixture simmer for a few minutes before removing off the stove.

White Sauce

Place the butter in a small saucepan, place on the stove on a low-medium heat. Let the butter melt down, then remove from the stove and mix in the flour to make a rou. Put back on the stove and gradually add 2 cups of the milk. Whisk together, make sure there are no lumps. Gradually add the other 2 cups of milk. Let the sauce simmer on a low heat. This will allow it to thicken once all 4 cups have been added to the rou. When it’s at a good sauce consistency remove from the stove and stir in the nutritional yeast and mustard. You can also add some salt and pepper. If your white sauce becomes too thick add the extra 1/2 cup of milk.

Layering the Lasagne

Spread a little of the tomato veef mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place down your first layer of lasagne sheets. Pour half of the veef mixture on the lasagne sheets. Place down a layer of the roasted eggplant. Add about 1/3 of the white sauce on top. Add another layer of pasta sheets. Then add a layer of the remaining veef mixture. Top with the roasted sweet potatoes. Follow with a layer of lasagne sheets. Pour the remaining white sauce on top. Sprinkle some vegan cheese or some nutritional yeast on top. Cover the lasagne with a baking tray or baking foil and place in the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes then remove the cover and turn your lasagne around. Bake for a further 30-40 until the top is golden brown. To make sure your lasagne sheets are cooked place a knife in the centre of the lasagne to make check. The knife should go through the pasta sheets with ease. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.