Lentil & spinach lasagne

Mmm, lasagne. This is one veggie lasagne I like and made for dinner today - I've also made it for non-veggie friends and they seemed to like it.

My other favourite veggie lasagnes are roast butternut squash & goats cheese and mediterranean vegetables (ie ratatouille). If you really want though, you can make a passable fake beef lasagne with veggie mince.

WHAT WE ATE

This is where my tendency to not measure things becomes unhelpful, but roughly I used:

1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 small grated carrot
200g red lentils
1 tin tomatoes
squeeze tomato puree
dried herbs (thyme, basil, bayleaves)

1 200g bag of spinach
two big flat mushrooms

1 pint milk
half a block of mature cheddar
3 tbsp flour
a big knob of butter/marg
a smidge of grated nutmeg

WHAT WE DID

1. Fry off the chopped onion and garlic in oil for a few minutes, add the grated carrot and give it a few more minutes.
2. Add the tinned tomatoes, the lentils, and one-and-a-half of the empty tin's full of cold water.
3. Bring to the boil, add the herbs and tomato puree and some salt & pepper, then turn it down and leave to simmer for at least half an hour (give it a stir every so often so the lentils don't stick to the pan).
4. While it's cooking, chop the mushrooms, wash the spinach and fry them both in a little oil for a few minutes. You might need to add the spinach in batches if there's too much to fit in the pan, but don't cook it for too long or it'll go rubbery and gross. Set it aside off the heat.
5. When the lentil bolognese is nearly done, make the cheese sauce (see post on cauliflower macaroni cheese if you're not sure how).
6. Assemble the lasagne - I normally smear a bit of cheese sauce on the bottom to stop it sticking, and then go in the order: pasta, cheese sauce, lentil bolognese, spinach & mushroom. Finishing obviously with a nice thick layer of cheese sauce and some extra grated cheese on top.
7. Oven it at about 180 degrees celsius for 30-40 minutes.
8. Yum.