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.

Orphan's Christmas '08

My favourite dessert was this one - made by Ivan from a recipe I found online. This was the only Christmas leftover I didn't mind eating!

Mango, Lychee & Passionfruit Salad

Serves 8

40 lychees, peeled, seeds removed (or 4 tins, drained)

4 mangoes, cheeks scored

1/4 cup mint leaves, torn

Passionfruit Syrup

125 ml passion fruit pulp (1/2 cup or 5 black passionfruit)

2 oranges, juice of, strained

1 lemon, juice of, strained

¾ cup caster sugar

For the syrup, pulse the passionfruit briefly in a food processor to loosen the seeds. If you have plastic blades us them so you don't cut the seeds.

Transfer to a pan with remaining ingredients and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until syrupy. Cool completely.

Place lychees and mango on a platter. Scatter with mint and drizzle with the passionfruit syrup. Serve immediately.