Lasagne is great in a flatting situation, as it can be made for many, or divided and frozen for later. Or… take leftovers to Uni to heat up in the Cybercommons microwave. Watch others turn green with jealousy!
You can make Lasagne with fresh lasagne sheets, which is nice yet expensive. So, buy some dry lasagne sheets from the supermarket (Kilbirnie Pak’n’Save: top shelf, opposite the baked beans). The lasagne will cook as it bakes, but make sure the tomato sauce/bolognaise you use is relatively runny, as the pasta needs something to absorb.
Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne
Tomato sauce:
1 recipe pasta sauce, made with 300g frozen spinach or 2 bunches chopped fresh spinach (see Salient food, issue 02). Add capsicums or mushrooms too, if you like.
Pumpkin mix:
3C Pumpkin – cubed, cooked, drained and mashed
1 250g tub cottage cheese
2 eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 t nutmeg
2 gloves crushed garlic
2 T basil pesto (or 2T chopped fresh basil, or 2t dried oregano and 1t dried basil)
1 C grated cheese
1 250g packet dried ‘instant’ lasagne
Extra grated cheese for top of lasagne
Line a 20cm x 30cm baking dish with 1/4 C tomato sauce mixed with 1/4 C water. Place lasagne sheets on top. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce, then spread with half of the pumpkin mix. Repeat, with another layer of pasta, 1/3 Tomato sauce, and the second half of the pumpkin mix. To finish compiling the lasagne, finish with a layer of pasta, and the final 1/3 of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes at 180ºC, until pasta is cooked through. Serves 6.
The same recipe can be used for a meaty version too, by making tomato pasta sauce with mince, and leaving the pumpkin out of the cottage cheese mix.