VEGETARIAN SPINACH AND MINT LASAGNE- a healthy recipe with not a horse a sight

Fresh Spinach

With all the news of contaminated food, horse burgers and freaky lasagnes, I’m very thankful that we have been eating more of a vegetarian diet and making food from scratch for the last few years.

Last month I had to take time off as I was unwell and I was very lucky that my family rallied round cooking and shopping.

Soups, casseroles, blueberry muffins, chocolate brownies, fish pies and

oohh the MOST DELICIOUS spinach and mint lasagne.

I know it sounds rather strange but it is oh so scrumptious. The hint of mint offers a great balance to the spinach and the generous parmesan topping..well perfect!!

This delicious supper was made by my Mother, who is, as I have mentioned before, an excellent cook. As a small child I messed around with flour and eggs at her side and then as a teen and then student copied her recipes. At university I was even paid by a friend to cook supper parties for him, no baked beans every night for me!!

So if you fancy a lasagne with a difference I can thoroughly recommend this one. 

Spinach and mint lasagne

   Spinach, mint and cream cheese lasagne

Serves 4-6

Preparation time 30 minutes ish

(Well 10 minutes chopping and 20 minutes whilst the sauce simmers!)

Cooking time 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

Tomato sauce:

1Tbsp olive oil

1 chopped onion

2 celery sticks, and 2 carrots chopped

1tbsp tomato puree

2 400g tins of tomatoes

Filling:

I kg frozen spinach

11oz of cream cheese

3 Tbsp grated parmesan

2 Tbsp chopped mint leaves

8-10 sheets of lasagne

Topping

3 Tbsp crème fraiche( or cheese sauce if you can be bothered to make it) with a pinch of grated nutmeg

WHAT TO DO:

1.     Make the sauce; put the oil in a frying pan on a low heat and gently fry the onion, carrots and celery for about 3 minutes until soft.

2.     Add the tomato puree and tins of tomato and simmer for about 20 minutes. Then blend until smooth.

3.     Cook the spinach then drain and stir in the cream cheese, the mint and half of the parmesan.

4.     Turn the oven on to pre heat to 180 degrees c

5.     Now to layer it up. In an oven proof dish put a layer of tomatoes sauce. Next add a layer of spinach mix then a single layer of lasagne sheets and repeat. Do this until you finish with a top layer of lasagne.   

6.     Mix the nutmeg into the crème fraiche (or cheese sauce if you can be bothered to make it) and spread across the top then sprinkle the remaining parmesan on and put into the oven.

7.     Cook for half an hour.

As I said I can’t take the credit for this delicious recipe it was made by my Mum, who has passed it on to me. Despite being an odd combination for winter the mint and spinach work so well together.

spinach and mint lasagne ready to go in the oven

You can be confident there’s not a whisper of horse in this dish.