Porcini & Puy Lentil Lasagne

serves

Serves 6

time

1 hour 30

level

Proficient

The ultimate lasagne; deep, rich, earthy, satisfying all through the power of Porcini and Puy. Some say you can’t reinvent a classic but we think we just did.

Ingredients

1 x 30g pack Merchant Gourmet Porcini Mushrooms
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
300g button mushrooms
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 tbsp tomato puree
200ml red wine
1 quality tinned tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
1 tsp yeast extract (i.e marmite)
A pinch of sugar
Sprigs of thyme and rosemary
Bay leaves
2 x 250g packs Merchant Gourmet Simply Cooked Puy Lentils
75g plant-based butter
75g plain flour
700ml non-dairy milk
1 tbsp dijon mustard
3 heaped spoonfuls of nutritional yeast
Lasagne sheets
Good vegan cheese alternative (optional)
Green salad and garlic bread (to serve)

Instructions

Boil 300ml water and pour over Dried Porcini Mushrooms, leave to soak
Fry chopped onions, garlic, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt in oil until softened
Add chopped mushrooms and fry until golden
Drain the soaked Porcini Mushrooms and add to the pan, keeping the soaking liquid
Add the tomato puree and fry until darkened in colour
Add red wine, vegetable stock, tinned tomatoes, yeast extract, sugar, herbs and mushroom soaking liquid, being careful to leave any sediment behind
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for approx. 30 minutes
Add the lentils and simmer for another 15 until sauce is thickened and glossy, take off the heat
Preheat oven to 180C
Whilst simmering, melt 75g plant-based butter in a sauce pan
Add the plain flour and mix together over the heat until it comes together and looks like wet sand
Take the pan off the heat and very slowly whisk in the non-dairy milk, bit by bit to avoid lumps forming
Slowly add the rest of the milk and return to the heat
Whisk gently as this heats through as it will start to thicken
Add a splash more non-dairy milk if it becomes too thick
Add the nutritional yeast, mustard, plenty of black pepper and a grating of nutmeg, take off the heat
Layer up the ragu, bechamel and lasagne sheets until both sauces finished. (There’s always some debate but we suggest thin layer ragu, layer of lasagne, layer of ragu, layer of bechamel, layer of lasagne and repeat finishing with a top layer of bechamel)
Top with a grating of good quality vegan cheese if preferred and bake for approximately 45 minutes – popping a knife through the layers to check they are all cooked through.