Light but luxurious lasagne recipe

Lasagne is a firm favourite with everyone. Unfortunately, with all that pasta, creamy sauce and fatty beef, it can be a huge meal. My version replaces some of the pasta and meat with vegetables, and compared to an additive-filled, processed version, this is much better for the waistline. All the Italian purists that I know will be up in arms, but for me this is a great dish that leaves me feeling full of energy.

Serves 6
Ready in 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

The lasagne

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 400g lean beef mince (must be the best quality, or you could try and get a butcher to mince it for you)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 315ml red wine
• 400g tin plum tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 courgettes, thinly sliced lengthways
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers in brine
• 4 sheets of lasagne

The cheese sauce

• 500ml semi-skimmed milk
• A good grating of whole nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon English mustard
• 80g mature cheddar cheese

arlic for around five minutes over a medium heat.

2. Heat a frying pan up until very hot and cook the seasoned beef, without any oil, in batches. Then add the beef to the saucepan.

The point of cooking the beef in batches is to get a good colour on it because this adds more flavour.

3. When all the beef is in the saucepan, turn up the heat and add the wine.

4. Cook until the wine has all been absorbed and then add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, bay leaf and oregano. Season and simmer for 30 minutes or until rich and tasty.

5. Preheat a conventional oven to 180ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 160ºC.

6. Heat a griddle pan. Season the courgettes and lightly chargrill or sear on each side, then leave on a plate until assembling time. Drain the peppers and also add to the plate.

7. For the cheese sauce: heat the milk up gently with a good grating of nutmeg, some salt and pepper. Mix the cornflour with 50ml of the milk and whisk back into the milk, continuing to cook for two to three minutes until thickened.

8. Add the mustard and half the cheese. Check the seasoning and set aside.

9. Now for the fun part: Take a baking dish and start layering up the ingredients. Start with a layer of meat, then peppers, then meat, then courgettes, then meat, then pasta and finally cheese sauce.

10. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbling.