Roasted Courgette Layered 'Lasagne'

What is amazing about this recipe is that it uses zero pasta sheets, the courgettes are sliced thinly with a mandolin into thin sheets to replace the traditional pasta sheets.

It was really good.  I have never really been a fan of ricotta.  I had a pie once and the ricotta just tasted congealed to me and dry, but this was really nice and quite light to eat, compared to pasta based lasagne's that can sometimes be stodgy, but also a great way to use up those courgettes. 

This is one of those recipes you make when you have time on your hands and perhaps over the weekend when its raining and it certainly was.

I followed the original recipe which comes from Donna Hay with very few tweaks.  Round courgette for the tradition courgettes, Tuscan Black kale for spinach and kale  and cheddar cheese for the topping in place of mozzarella.  Just make sure you drain excess liquid from the vegetables otherwise it will exude a lot of liquid whilst cooking and you don't want a soggy lasagne.  The recipe states it serves 4, but I think could easily be stretched to 6 people with a salad on the side.

I am sharing this RoastedCourgette Layered 'Lasagne' with Eat Your Greens challenge hosted this month by The VegHog - You still have time to share your #EatYourGreens recipe with the VegHog, so go on what's stopping you!?. 

Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Blue Cheese Dill Lasagne

A generous portion of Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Blue Cheese Lasagne.

Lasagne is not the easiest to photograph, its a flat dish for a start.

So the best way to sell it to you is with its flavours, but that is a little hard when one of the main ingredients is mushrooms and I am not big on mushrooms, but here goes.... This Creamy Chestnut Mushroom is smothered in Blue Cheese and fresh dill herb.  

I actually made this Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Blue Cheese Lasagne early on in the year, when we had load of cheese left over from the Christmas and New Year - this Creamy Chestnut Mushroom Lasagne was made around the same time as the vegan Pickled Mushroom Strogonoff with Watercress.  Though it can be, this lasagne is not vegan, its made with blue cheese, milk and butter and a garnishing of fresh dill.

I have to confess I don't often make Lasagnes at home that often.  It its one of those dinners that is Ds makes, like weekend breakfast or brunch and coffee made in the cafetiere.    But I did this time as it was my decision to pick up the chestnut mushrooms in a bid to use up the excess cheese. I am sharing this recipe with Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for No Waste Food Challenge.  

Gnocchi in Red Pepper and Blue Cheese Sauce

We have been eating lots of pasta based dishes from lasagne's to cheesy bakes, a bit like this Gnocchi in Red Pepper and Blue Cheese Sauce. 

I made this when I had barely any vegetables in the house and lots of cheese in the fridge from Christmas and New Year binge eating.  this is a relatively easy recipe, especially if you use roasted red peppers from a jar and ready made gnocchi, then lunch or dinner will be on the table in no time.  The sauce is whizzed in a food processor and then its just about cooking the gnocchi and bringing the two components together.

This photograph does not do this Gnocchi in Red Pepper and Blue Cheese Sauce Bake justice, it really was quite delicious; and this comes from someone who is not a huge fan of blue cheese.

D loved this and went back for seconds, in fact he finished off what was left in the pot.  He loved the Red Pepper Blue cheese sauce and I loved how the the pillowy potato dumplings became crisp under the grill.

Pea and Mint Gnocchi Bake

I often make my own gnocchi, but its been a while and by the time I get home after work I have to admit I have begun to rely on a supermarket brand for a fast evening meals.  Saying all that, this was not a work day, but for today.  

We took an impulsive drive to Porthcawl today and then Llantwit Major, a small coastal town of windy lanes, narrow streets and historic buildings.  Despite being near the beach twice, I resisted the smell of sea salt and vinegar on chip, but this meant by the time we got home we were both hungry and I needed to put something together rather quick. The part I liked about this most, was the crispy, golden cheesy topping. 

I used to make this kind a dish quite a lot in my student days, but it was on the stove top rather than in the oven and the pasta would vary.  

Have I told you that I have a small freezer?!.  I don't put very much in it due to its size, but the one thing I always seem to have are frozen peas and when I looked closer, I found another packet of frozen peas, so expect a few more pea recipes on my blog this month  (and yes I know peas are in season too - but some of us have not grown our own this year (sad face)).   I am sharing this gnocchi bake with Pasta Please, hosted by Slice of Me.  Pasta Please is co-ordinated by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes.  

Sweet Potato and Cheese Bake

Its been a longish working day.  As I had worked through my lunch break, one bonus from the day was that I was home a little earlier, which mean't I had a little more time to potter in the kitchen. These days when I get in from work, I just want to put something relatively quick on the table like pasta, unless of course I had prepped something over the weekend, then it is much more considered.  

Anyway, I had already mentally bookmarked a recipe that had been submitted to Vegetable Palette last month by Anne at Anne's Kitchen; and as I had most of the ingredients, I went ahead and made it. By the time D got home, it was pretty much ready to serve up. D was delighted with this sweet and savoury  warming orange glow of a dish, moreso as its been a while since I made a cheesy bake.  

As I was following Veganuary last month it impacted on him quite a bit, as anything I was cooking or baking  was completely vegan for January, but he did not grumble once.  Bless. I think he is quietly glad now that is is February.  Funny though, as a lot of the dishes I make happen to be vegan, in fact I would go as far as saying that 90 percent of what I make at home is accidentally vegan, but I will keep that hush.  

The recipe below makes a rather big portion, perfect for a little family or friends, but no so much for a couple, so we will be tucking into this tomorrow too.    

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne

In my household, I am not the one who makes lasagnes, that  task if often left in the capable hands of my darling husband.  Not this time though, as I wanted to have a go, especially after feeling a tad better.  

Please bare in mind, if you wish to make this recipe, or any other lasagne recipe - its not one of those you can knock up in minutes, it does take a bit of time to prepare the elements and then put together.  So its perhaps best to make it at the weekend, when you may have a little more time on your hands, but once it'd done, it can be kept in the fridge for a few days.  As it re-heats wonderfully, just don't use the same baking dish to re-heat it in the oven, the cheese on the sides of the rim will bake to blackness and set off your smoke alarms, as well as make it a hard task for scrubbing, that is of course when you come to wash the dish, unless your blessed with a dish washer.  I am not, but I am blessed with a husband who does not mind doing the washing up, so he tells me. 

Eggs en cocotte with spinach and cream

I've always wanted to participate in Random Recipes hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen, but never quite seem to be organised enough to do so, this time though I had my mind set upon it.  This was the challenge that Dom set us for Random Recipes #31 - grab and run.

If you had 10 seconds to grab one book, which one would it be?

For me that was easy, it had to be Cranks Fast Food by Nadine Abensur.  Its a vegetarian cookbook that helped me through my student days and opened my eyes to new ingredients then such as sumac, harissa, tahini, black sesame seeds, preserved lemons and even feta cheese, that we take so much for advantage now.  Nadine  Abensur is perhaps the number one vegetarian cook who has influenced me and got me cooking out of the so-called vegetable box, injecting bold flavours into traditional fare, but also experimenting with exotic ingredients. I've raved about Nadine Abensur on my blog before, and would be happy to do so again, but today its about the challenge.  But before I continue with the challenge, I will say if you haven't checked out her cookbooks and your a veggie, then I would strongly advise that you do so.

Portobello Mushroom and Vegetarian Welsh Haggis Lasagne

Its been a stinky day at work, rain...rain and more rain.  After work, especially when I finish a tad early - I usually find my way to my parents and slump on their sofa in front of their fire, not today.  I got the bus to my home and jumped pretty much straight away into my pyjamas and the hot water bottle was filled too, oh mustn't forget the coffee. 

So while I am sitting here, waiting for D to come home.  I thought I'd post one of the first recipes from my Burns Night Menu  - a Vegetarian Haggis Lasagne.  Its been a while since I made and more to the point eaten lasagne, so what a great opportunity to create one to showcase my home-made vegetarian haggis with a Welsh twist.

I know nowadays, the Internet is filled with lots of traditional haggis and vegetarian haggis based recipes from the likes of McSween the biggest haggis producers in Scotland, as well as Scottish food writers: Sue Lawrence, but for me I owe my further enjoyment of vegetarian haggis to Johanna.  I remember only five - six year ago when I lived in Scotland, you just couldn't find a good vegetarian haggis based recipes on the internet and when you did, how to incorporate it in other recipes.  The one place on the Internet where I did find some inspiration was Johanna's blog Green Gourmet Giraffe  (a year or so before I began my own blog) I even remember one of the Scottish national papers there, acknowledging her website as a source of haggis recipe inspiration.  Since discovering Johanna's blog, we have become good blogger friends and she has continued to create many other vegetarian haggis delights - such as haggis,neeps and tatties pasties, and haggis nachos which I think I may have to have later this week as I still have some haggis to use up.

Anyway, my Welsh Haggis Lasagne is very earthy looking dish, almost autumnal - except its the winter season here.  For the Welsh twist, I've added some leeks in place of the onion.  I've also added some meaty Portobello mushrooms to my haggis, this was mainly to give it more texture for the guests that were more used to eating meat, so its an optional extra.   It was enjoyed by everybody who had it, including me.  I liked the differential texture of the haggis, the oozyness of the bechamel cream and the chewy baked bits of the lasagne sheets and the just burnt crisp cheese.  

To my knowledge, Welsh faggots are referred to as Welsh Haggis. Faggots were traditionally made with the innards of pigs. The pate like mixture is then wrapped in the lacy casing of the animals caul and oven roasted slowly, just like Scottish Haggis.  there may be some truth in this as The Scotsman also make reference to haggis being popular in the Welsh Valleys of Wales, but they still credit the Scots for the haggis jokingly writing that a Scottish haggis escaping to Wales in 1690, hence its popularity in Wales. 

You may be interested to note that in the few years there has been some questions as to the origins of the Haggis being English - to read more follow this link.  Also, to view some of my past vegetarian and vegan haggis based recipes, follow this link
Vegan tower of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties
Haggis Burgers
Mushroom Haggis Pakoras/Bhajis 
Vegan Haggis Bon Bons or Bites
Clapshot Haggis Tikkia
Haggis Roti
Haggis Samosa

Sunflower turning up to the skies

This is the first sunflower in my garden to open its little head. For the past two days I've been admiring and looking at it from the flat window.

Some apples hanging in on the tree. Still a long way from cooking with them.

Blueberries are fattening and beginning to ripen.

I've harvested all of the cauliflowers in the garden. Look they've begun to spurt. I should have harvested them a bit earlier, when I was boasting about them. Ah they'll still be edible in a soup or a bake.

Here's a 'Cauliflower and couscous roast' - an all in one dish. Not exactly cauliflower and cheese, but its packed with flavour from the capers, cheese and texture from the couscous and cauliflower. Although its creamy, its not claggy at all. Its actually quite light to eat.

Creamy cauliflower and couscous roast
Serves 4
Ingredients
500ml vegetable stock
700g cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 teaspoons mustard
25g butter
200g couscous
125g milk
100g light cream cheese
100g boursin cheese
2 tablespoon capers, rinsed
A handful of fresh chives, snipped
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Method
In a large saucepan add the florets along with the stock and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add a pinch of salt, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is just tender. Strain the cauliflower over a bowl, reserving the liquid, then beat the mustard and butter into the liquid. Put the couscous into another bowl, pour the liquid over the couscous and let soak for about 5 minutes. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
Put the milk into a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Beat in the cream cheese to form a thick sauce, then pour over the cauliflower.
Fluff up the soaked couscous with a fork, then stir in the capers, Gruyere and chives. Spoon the couscous mixture over the cauliflower, sprinkle with cayenne and bake in a preheated oven at Gas mark 6 for 30 – 40 minutes until golden. Serve immediately. Adapted from New Kitchen Garden by Adam Kaplin with recipes by Celia Brooks Brown.

To end, some of you will have heard me mentioning the menacing skies in Scotland. Well there are evening when the skies here are magnificent. Look at these.

Taken in my garden few days ago. Sometimes the magic in the skies just take my breath away. Hope your all having a lovely weekend.

Broccoli–Cauliflower Bake with Mushroomy Butter beans

Okay okay, i've been boasting about my cauliflower - but I have a confession to make, I also planted a 'snowball' variety. Well I lose track now, but a few days ago I was holding a snowball cauliflower floret in the palm of your hand. The stems of this floret were a luminous green, so bright that you'd think you were holding one of those luminous sticks, it almost hurt my eyes. Okay I'm exaggerating, but it was very bright.

I have to admit the tamari tofu sauce vegetables bake is not the most photogenic of recipes I've made, but it tasted fine almost healthy. I particularly liked the delicate flavour of the tamari in the background. I think the tofu tamari sauce on its own would be good as a dipping sauce for crudités or even raw broccoli stalks. Yet it was the accompaniment of the Butter beans in the mushroomy sauce that got D going ‘this is good, this is really good’. I think it may have been the nutritional yeast flakes. I believe this added more depth to the sauce.

I’ve had a tub of nutritional yeast flakes in my kitchen cupboard for a while. Bought with the intention to use, but somehow never do. Nutritional yeast as the name suggests a great source of vitamin B12. It is naturally low in fat and because of this it is a popular condiment for those wanting to limit their salt intake. On opening the tub you find yellow beige like flakes. For those of you who have little fish to feed, these flakes will immediately remind you of fish food. The smell is quite strong too, like a mature cheese which brings me to its flavour. The flavour is also cheese like, bit nutty too. It is recommended to use in place of Parmesan for vegetarians and vegans.

If your curious to try it, you should be able to find nutritional yeast can be found in the supplement section of your health food store. It can be found in either flake or powder form, but be sure you don't get brewer's yeast by mistake, apparently its quite similar in appearance.

Broccoli – Cauliflower Bake with Mushroomy Butter beans
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g cauliflower florets
450g Broccoli florets
200g New potatoes, cut in half if too big (optional)
200g crumbled firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder

25g sunflower seeds
Steam all of the vegetables separately until tender, set aside.

Preheat oven to gas mark

In a blender, combine the tofu, 100ml of water, the oil, Tamari and mustard. Blend until creamy.
Arrange the vegetables in a baking dish. Pour the tofu sauce on top and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Butter Beans in Onion Gravy
Serves 2

Ingredients

100ml olive oil
1 medium red onion, minced
200g chestnut mushrooms, halved
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, minced
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
175ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tin of cooked butter beans
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Method
In a medium pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onions. Saute until slightly brown. Add the mushrooms, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook for about 8 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring often, until it turns brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir I the nutritional yeast and stock. Mix well. Return to the pan to heat. Bring to the boil over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Adapted from Food for the Spirit.

Rich Vegetarian Pastitsio with spinach

In an attempt to use up what was in my fridge: namely spinach, spring onions, home grown lettuce and a number of dairy products, I ended up making a Pastitsio. Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish made with pasta, tomato based sauce (sometimes including meat) and a béchamel sauce. The dish originally comes from the Italian tradition of "pasticcio (di pasta)", literally medley, mess or scramble. It is so interesting how dishes are created with a hotch potch of ingredients.
Its not the prettiest plate of food oozing all over the place, but you won't be hungry after eating it I assure you. And if your on a diet, please, please don't look at the sauce ingredients - you'll pile on the pounds just reading it.

Pastitsio with spinach and feta
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
For the rich tomato sauce
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g butter
2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes with juice
4 teaspoon sun dried tomato paste
1 generous teaspoon of dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
For the filling
225g dried penne
Salt and pepper to taste
Bunch of spring onions, sliced
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g spinach, roughly chopped
lettuce leaves (optional) roughly chopped
100g feta cheese, crumbled

For the sauce
100g feta cheese, crumbled

4 egg yolks
200g fromage frais
150g crème fraiche
Method
For the rich tomato base
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook over a medium low heat for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and break them up, together with sun dried tomato paste and oregano. Simmer uncovered over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce it thick and pulpy. Discard the oregano sprigs and season to taste.
For the base
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain thoroughly, then toss with a little oil to prevent it from sticking and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the garlic and fry for 5 minutes, then add the spring onion and spinach to the pan and cook until it wilts.
Add the sauce and feta to the pan, along with the pasta and mix well. Spoon into a lightly oiled deep baking dish.

For the sauce
Put the egg yolks, fromage frais, crème fraiche and feta into a food processor and process briefly until smooth; Or mash and blend in a bowl with a fork. Season to taste.
Pour the cream mixture over the pasta mixture and bake in the oven gas mark 5 for 30 – 40 minutes until golden and firm to the touch. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving, accompanied by a crisp salad. This dish reheat well in the oven. Adapted from Good House Keeping.

Tomatoes are the elixir of summer

writes Anna Thomas of The Epicurean.
I don’t enjoy tomatoes as much as D does. Sometimes I find them too sweet, sometimes acidic. So as you may have noticed over the past few weeks I have been trying to find ways of using them. Ideally I would have made dozens of bottles of homemade tomato sauce, but you see I am running out of space to store these and even jars, even the freezer is jam packed.

As you may remember, early this week D made some more tomato soup. I asked him to keep it simple and vegan, so we could add other flavourings to it, such as mint, parsley and coriander. So it did not feel like we were eating the same lunch - day in, day out.
When we came back from Fife yesterday we had this Tomato lasagne which I had made on Friday. We had the lasagne accompanied with some steamed green beans, and guess what we are having today, yes the same dish, well you didn't think I was going to cook after putting in a whole day at the allotment.
Fresh Tomato lasagne
Serves 4 - 6
For the Tomato Sauce
125ml olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
800g – 1 kilo of fresh tomatoes, can be mixed
About a dozen basil leaves, shredded
For the Bechamel sauce
120g butter
80g plain flour
1 litre milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
About 300 – 350g fresh lasagne sheets
100g grated vegetarian parmesan cheese
Method
For the tomato sauce: heat the oil and garlic in a large pan. When garlic becomes translucent, add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook uncovered for about 25 minutes or until it becomes a thick sauce. Stir in the basil and leave to cool.
To make the béchamel sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, then begin adding the milk. It will be absorbed immediately so work quickly whisking with one hand while pouring in the milk with the other. When the sauce seems to be smooth and not too stiff add seasoning and grating of nutmeg and continue cooking, mixing all the time. It should be a very thick and smooth sauce.
Assembling the lasagne
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease a 8 x 12 inch baking dish. Drizzle some bechamel sauce over the bottom of the dish to cover it thinly. Place two or three depending on the size of your lasagne sheets, so that they are slighly overlapping on top. Dollop a thin layer of tomato sauce over that, spreading it with the back of the ladle. Add about two ladlefuls of the bechamel. Add another layer of lasagne sheets, then tomato and bechamel as before, and then repeat the layers one more time. You should have about 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a good amount of bechamel left. Make a final layer of lasagne sheets and cover with all the remaining bechamel. Dollop the tomato sauce here and there (as I've done in the photo). Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it is bubbling and golden on top.

Broccoli and Camembert bake

Quick after work grub. This is a richly flavoured bake, the Camembert melts into the cream to create a thick creamy sauce.
Broccoli and Camembert bake
Ingredients
Serves 2
4 tablespoons of double cream or single cream
350g Broccoli cut into small florets, including stalks
180g Camembert cheese, cut into slices including the rind
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 30g Parmesan cheese
Method
Steam the broccoli until just tender. Drain and transfer to an ovenproof dish.
Distribute Camembert slices evenly over the broccoli. Spoon over the cream and season to taste. If using Parmesan cheese, sprinkle over the top. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with boiled potatoes.

Sun worshippers, flash floods and carrots

According to the local news this evening, a number of Scottish sun worshippers have been basting themselves with moisturiser, baby lotion and even chip fat, rather than putting on sunscreen cream or spray for protection. Shame the lengths some people go through to achieve that natural tan.

By this afternoon though, the mood and the weather had changed. For a good hour or so, around 3pm the skies just burst and everyone out in the open ran for the nearest shelter. Now we have some areas in the West of Scotland affected by flash floods which has caused havoc on the roads, but its a welcome change from the still and stale air, plus the plants are loving it, I'm sure.

Anyway, back to food, both my carrot boxes at the allotment are doing very well. I know this because D lifted out 3 rainbow carrots last Sunday. But before I start consuming my own crunchy carrots, I have to use up the organic bag of carrots I bought over a week ago, that are starting to lose their colour, so I decided to make this dish for our evening meal today.
Carrot pesto lasagne bake
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
50g butter
60g plain flour
750ml milk
160g sour cream
100g cheddar cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons of ready made pesto
750g carrots, grated
250g instant lasagne sheets
Salt and pepper to taste
50g cheddar cheese, grated for topping
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 2.

Grease 12 x 8 inch oven dish. Heat butter in a large saucepan, when melted add flour. Stir over low heat until the mixture is bubbling. Gradually add the combined milk, sour cream and seasoning. Stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the 100g cheese and cool slightly. Then stir in the beaten eggs.

Pour one third of the sauce into the separate bowl and set aside. Add pesto and grated carrot to the remaining sauce, stir well to combine.

Put one third of the carrot mixture into the dish, then layer with lasagne sheets. Repeat this layering at least twice, finishing with a layer of lasagne sheets. Spread the reserved sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the 50g cheese and bake in oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with mixed salad leaves or peas.

Adapted from Leanne Kitchens Growers Market.