Protein packed lentil lasagne with crusty garlic topping
With a thick, creamy, tasty bechamel
I put a suggestion box on instagram to see if anyone would like me to cover anything in this month's issue of Survive and Thrive. Dairy free lasagne was one of them and here we are.
The biggest challenge when making a dairy free lasagne is the bechamel. In the past I have tried lots of different ways to make it and I finally feel this way is best. It was thick, creamy and tasted great.
The best part is it's packed with protein. This lasagne is heavy on lentils and tofu both of which are fantastic sources of plant based protein.
To give this lasagne a crispy top layer I finished it off with crispy chunky garlic breadcrumbs. Think garlic bread but less carbs and calories.
Serve with a simple side salad dressed with balsamic vinegar.
I used fresh pasta sheets for this because I prefer them and I'm also a little impatient, it cooks much quicker.
I'm going to break this recipe down into three steps. The tomato and lentil sauce, the garlic crumb topping and the bechamel.
Ingredients for the tomato and lentil sauce
1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets
Olive oil
1 onion sliced
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1tsp smoked paprika
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
600ml vegetable stock
140g red lentils
1 heaped tsp of pesto
For the garlic crumb topping
3 slices of bread
Olive oil
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
1tsp dried oregano
A touch of garlic granules
For the bechamel
400ml milk of choice (i used almond)
1 vegetable stock cube
1 small garlic clove chopped
600g tofu
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
3tbsp nutritional yeast
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
Directions
- For the tomato and lentil sauce: heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot once hot add the onion, garlic, pepper and smoked paprika. Cook for 5 minutes if the pot becomes dry add a little bit of water and keep stirring to prevent burning.
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Next add the tin of tomatoes and 400ml vegetable stock.
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Bring to the boil and let simmer for 7 minutes and then blend until smooth.
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Rinse and drain the lentils and add them to the pot as well as the remaining stock. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through.
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Finish off with the pesto and add sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
- For the garlic crumb topping, blend the bread roughly in a food processor. You want some texture. Add the breadcrumbs and all the other ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine.
- For the bechamel, pour the milk into a pot, add the stock cube and garlic. Once it begins to heat up, break in the tofu. When the milk is hot, blend these ingredients together and reduce the heat. Keep stirring.
- Add the salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and whole grain mustard. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat.
- To assemble the lasagne: Start off with a layer of bechamel and then top with pasta sheets. Next, add a layer of the tomato and lentil mix, topped off with pasta sheets. Then, I added some bechamel and tomato and lentil mix and topped off with pasta sheets.
- Repeat this process and finish off with a layer of bechamel topped off with the garlic crumb. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for 20 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.