Emma’s Recipe Book – Mushroom, Kale and Goat’s Cheese Lasagne

I put this together as a bit of a scratch,  use-up-the-leftovers-type meal, and it was delicious.

Start by dicing a couple of onions, finely chopping a couple of garlic cloves, and dicing three large-ish carrots.  Saute, the onions in a little oil for a few minutes, add the garlic, and finally add the carrots.  Saute for a few minutes before adding a tin of tomatoes and a teaspoon of herbes de provence (or make the flavours zing a bit more with a teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped, and the same amount of fresh sage, chopped).  Tip the whole lot into a baking dish and pop it in a medium-hot oven while you get on with the next bit.

Put a small handful of dried mushrooms in a mug, and pour boiling water them.  Leave to one side.

Strip the kale leaves away from the stalk (don’t buy kale that’s been chopped into small pieces which is how Sainsbury’s sells it.  You want a bag where the whole leaf is intact).  Blanch them in salted, boiling water until they begin to soften, then drain and put aside.

Wipe out the pan you used to saute the onions, and add some more oil and butter.  Saute the mushrooms and cook until all the liquid has disappeared.  Put to one side.

Now, make the white sauce.  Put a bit of butter in a saucepan, melt down and add enough plain flour to make it into a paste.  Gradually whisk in enough milk to create a sauce.  Grate a little fresh nutmeg in.  Now it’s time to assemble the lasagna.

Drizzle a little oil in the bottom of whatever dish your using, and line with lasagne sheets.  Add a layer of the onion / carrot / tomato mixture.  Top with lasagna sheets.  Next, add the mushrooms and the chopped goat’s cheese.  Season with some freshly milled black pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Add another layer of lasagna sheets.

The final layer will be the kale.  Squeeze the kale to get out most of the liquid, and chop.  Spread out on the lasagna layer, add a little olive oil, and grate a little nutmeg over.  Add the final layer of lasagna.

Pour the white sauce over the top layer, and let stand for a few minutes.  Then, pop it in the oven (medium temp.) until cooked.  Let it stand for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!