Two-tone lasagne (pics to come!)

Being Sunday, and with a little time up my sleeve, I decided to attempt my first lasagne. I hit the cookbooks and Tastespotting in search of a vegetarian lasagne that would fit the bill, but was disappointed with the samples I found. In the end, I found a great bechamel recipe in Delicious mag, and made up the rest as I went along.

The boy wasn't in the mood for a meat-free meal, so I decided that rather than doing 2 lasagnes (a bit OTT even for me) I would split the dish in half with a layer of baking paper. The bechamel (another first) smelled fantastic as it was cooking, and thankfully turned out perfect. While I prepped the rest of the veges, Neil cooked his mince. Then, from our selection of toppings, we each created our perfect lasagne.

The result was absolutely delish - especially with the sneaky glass of John Grima Cab Sav (from John's Stag Do in Nov. '06) we had on the side.

Enjoy!

Two-tone Lasagne
Bechamel
1L milk
½ onion
1 clove garlic, bruised
2 sprigs fresh thyme
100g flour
100g butter
Salt & pepper to taste
½ tsp nutmeg

800g mushrooms, sliced
800g pumpkin, cut into 2cm dice
½ onion, sliced
½ red capsicum, thinly sliced
440g tin crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Small handful basil, chopped
Good splash of Tabasco

8-10 fresh pasta sheets
Grated cheese

Preparation:
1. For the béchamel, put milk, onion, garlic and thyme in a saucepan and heat until just below boiling. Remove from the heat and cool for 30 minutes.
2. Strain the milk to remove the infusion ingredients.
3. Clean the saucepan and, over low heat, melt butter. Add flour and stir for 3-4 minutes to cook out flour taste. Gradually whisk in milk. When all of the milk has been added, cook for 3-5 minutes until thick and smooth. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover tightly with baking paper to prevent a skin from forming and set aside.
4. Place pumpkin in a baking dish with a little olive oil and bake at 220 degrees C for 20 minutes or until soft. Sprinkle with a little nutmeg and mash.
5. Saute mushrooms with a little butter and set aside.
6. For the tomato sauce, combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic and Tabasco in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until reduced, then set aside.
7. Saute onions and capsicum over a low heat until soft.

To assemble:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease a large baking dish (25cm x 30cm) and layer with lasagne sheets. Spread over a layer of béchamel, then a thin layer of tomato sauce. Top with a layer of mushrooms/mince, then sprinkle with a thin layer of cheese.
3. Top with another layer of lasagne sheets, béchamel and tomato sauce, then spread a layer of pumpkin. Top with onion and capsicum and a thin layer of cheese.
4. Top with final layer of lasagne sheets and béchamel sauce, then sprinkle with cheese. Top with a little fresh thyme.
5. Cover with baking paper and foil, then bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and baking paper, then grill for 5-8 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbling.
6. Leave to ‘firm up’ for 10 minutes before cutting.

The pasta disaster that turned into a winning dinner!

We've had a packet of Barbushco Lemon Myrtle Fettuccine sitting in the cupboard awaiting the perfect sauce since our June excursion to the Good Food and Wine Show. This weekend I searched high and low for the perfect sauce recipe that would show off the flavour of the lemon myrtle, but everything I found was either heavily oil or cream based.

This pasta called for a light sauce and just a few veges to let the subtle lemon myrtle flavour shine through.

So here's what I came up with....

Lemon Myrtle Fettuccine with Broccoli & Mushrooms
250g lemon myrtle fettuccine
1/2 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium head of broccoli, chopped
4 large mushrooms, sliced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine
100ml cream
Salt & pepper to season

• Saute onions and garlic in a large frying pan until soft. Add broccoli and mushrooms and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle over zest and add wine. Stir to combine and leave to simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half.
• Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente.
• Add cream to the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
• Drain pasta and return to the pasta pot. Pour over the broccoli and mushroom sauce and stir to combine.

To be honest, I thought it was going to be a disaster, but it was REALLY, really good. So try it...