TOMATO LASAGNE
We had our neighbours over for lunch yesterday, so I made this Tomato Lasagne for the vegetarians!!! It is very simple but very tasty. As I was making one for lunch, I doubled the ingredients and made another one for the freezer. This will be very handy on a busy day where I can just defrost it during the day and have it ready to put into the oven where it will cook whilst I can still do jobs around the house!!!
This recipe is for one Lasagne, so if you want to make another one at the same time you will need to double up the ingredients.
Sauce:
- 1.3 kg ripe Tomatoes. (I am using up my tomatoes from the greenhouse, so I used a mixture of Roma and Beefsteak)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Onions, finely diced
- 5 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste
- 2 tablespoons of Sun Dried Tomato Paste
- 75 mls of Red Wine
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 big sprigs of Thyme
- 1 teaspoon of Sugar
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
Lasagne:
- Sheets of Dried Lasagne
- 3 Buffalo Mozzarella balls, diced
- 75g of Goats Cheese Gouda or equivalent strong cheese grated (to make it vegetarian – as parmesan isnt!)
- Bunch of Basil
To make the sauce:
Cut the core out of the tomatoes and place them in boiling water for 30 seconds. I place them in a colander to drain whilst I finish off all the tomatoes. The skins should just slip easily off. Roughly chop the tomatoes, you don’t want them too small.
Heat the Olive Oil in a large pan and saute the chopped Onion until it is transparent, you do not want it to brown. Add the chopped Garlic, mix it around and then add the chopped Tomatoes, the Tomato Paste, the Sun Dried Tomato Paste, the Red Wine, the Bay Leaf, the Thyme, the Sugar and the Salt and Pepper.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Take out the herbs, and if there are still very large chunks of tomato, you can smash them up a bit, but really it will probably be a very good consistency. You want bits of tomato, not a smooth puree.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
Cover the base of your Lasagne dish, with a thin layer of Tomato Sauce. Place your Lasagne Sheets on top, (my dish takes three sheets of pasta side by side) and cover this with another layer of Tomato Sauce. Place some of the diced Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese over the top and then a scattering of the grated Goats Cheese. Tear some Basil leaves and put them over the cheese.
Repeat the Lasagne Sheets, Tomato Sauce, 2 Cheeses and Basil leaves. You should have four layers of Lasagna Sheets. On the Top layer though, do not place the basil leaves on top, as they will just burn in the oven.
Cook in the oven for 1 hour, but depending on your oven it may take a little shorter or longer time. You want it nicely browned on the top.
I prepared my second dish of Lasagne up to the point of putting it in the oven, so just covered it and put it in the freezer. It works very well.
