Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne

To be honest, I don't know why I cooked this (apart from the fact that it's delicious). It is a faff and a half, and if I tried putting spinach and mushrooms (and in the middle child's case, white sauce) in front of the children, there would be an outcry of "eeeeeewwwww! Vom!"..... which would inevitably end in someone being sent to their room and a big old strop from me. You see, I mind much less if they don't like something that has taken about 5 minutes to put together, but when it has taken an arsenal of kitchen equipment and hours to prep all of the separate components then.... well....

For this reason, I've made the lasagne in two separate, smaller dishes, one of which I've given to a friend. It's a really tasty vegetarian lasagne, a little bit sophisticated and would be a good dish for entertaining. Personally, I preferred it without the goat's cheese, but my husband disagreed. To be honest, I'd rather just grate some cheddar over the top!

I've added a very small amount of dried, crushed chillies when roasting the butternut squash, which works well with the sweetness of the squash and the earthy flavours of the spinach and mushroom.

 

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• 1x 250g box of chestnut mushrooms (or use oyster/shiitake if you are feeling indulgent)
• 1 x 200g bag of spinach
• Dried lasagne sheets
• (Optional) 25g goat's cheese (I used Kidderton Ash, you might prefer something milder), or use grated cheddar
• 30g butter
• A pinch of grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp olive oil for frying mushrooms
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram and optional crushed chillies)
• 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes in juice
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram)
• 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Ground black pepper to season
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the white sauce

• 40g butter
• 2 dessert spoons of plain flour
• Approx. 2/3 - 3/4 pint milk

Serves 4 - 6

 

Instructions

(Roasting the butternut squash)

• Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees fan
• Slice the butternut squash into quarters lengthways. Place skin-side down on a baking tray, then sprinkle salt, ground pepper and dried mixed herbs over the top. Drizzle with olive oil, then place in the oven and cook for 35 minutes until the squash is softened and browned. Remove from the heat and let cool

Yummy roasted butternut squash

(Making the tomato sauce)

• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil very gently in a heavy-based pan, and add the crushed garlic. Let it bubble very gently for a minute or two to infuse the oil - do not let it catch and burn, as this will make the sauce bitter
• Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, dried mixed herbs, red wine and sugar. Using a sharp knife, pierce the chilli a couple of times so that it doesn't explode. Add the chilli to the pot and give several turns of the pepper mill. Mix well to combine
• Heat the tomato sauce until it is bubbling, then reduce the heat, put a lid on the pan and simmer for 45 minutes until all of the flavours have infused. When the sauce has cooled down, remove the chilli and discard

(Preparing the spinach and the mushrooms)

• Rinse the spinach and drain. Heat 30g butter in a heavy-based pan until bubbling. Add the spinach to the pan, then grate over some black pepper and add some salt. Add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, then stir rapidly until the leaves are just wilted. Remove from the heat
• Slice the mushrooms finely. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil to a heavy-based pan and heat the oil until it begins to move. Add the mushrooms and a good pinch of black pepper, than stir-rapidly until the mushrooms are coated in oil and slightly browned. Remove from the heat

(Assembling the lasagne)

• When the butternut squash is cool enough to touch, take a quarter and place it skin-side down onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, remove the skin from the narrow end, and peel as much as you can away. Don't worry if you can't peel much.
• With the skin-side on the board, slice the butternut squash into slices 3-4mm thick. Peel the skin away gently with the knife as you cut towards the board.
• Place a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce into the base of a baking dish, so that the base is just covered. Arrange slices of butternut squash across the bottom of the dish, then scatter over some sliced mushrooms and spinach. Top with a layer of dried lasagne sheets, then repeat, layering the lasagne as you go. Finish with a layer of lasagne sheets, then spread any remaining tomato sauce over the top

(Making the white sauce)

• Gently melt 40g butter in a heavy-based pan until it starts to bubble. Add 2 heaped dessert spoons of plain flour, and whisk into the butter. Keep whisking for a minute or two, to allow the flour to cook
• Add the milk a splash at a time to the pan, whilst whisking continuously. Don't worry that the roux goes solid.... it will loosen eventually! Keep adding the milk and whisking, until the sauce resembles custard in its consistency. I find that a silicone whisk works well at getting rid of any lumps. Add salt and pepper if desired

(Baking the lasagne)

• Using a ladle, spread the white sauce evenly over the lasagne, until the sheets are completely covered. Dot the top of the lasagne with cubed goat's cheese or grated cheddar and finish with a light dusting of grated parmesan

• Bake in the oven at 195 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the lasagne is piping hot throughout. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Would be nice with a peppery green salad to cut through the richness

Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne

Brazilian Meatloaf

The credit for this recipe goes to the mum of my friend, Julio. I find that children look at it suspiciously, poke it around a bit with their forks, and after being persuaded to take a first bite, usually ask for seconds.

The first time we had this at Julio and Dani's house, the dish was accompanied by a really lovely cauliflower cheese - I don't know how he managed it, but Julio managed to wrap ham and cheese in and around the cauliflower, then take it out of the oven still looking like a whole cauliflower. It was a really lovely meal, and a really lovely day. I miss you guys!

I haven't made this for a while, but we had the school nativity on Friday, and some of the children's friends (and their mums, my friends!) came over after school. We haven't done it for a while, I think maybe once, since I started working full time in 2012, but it reminded me how much I miss doing it. Maybe early Friday leaving every so often could be a habit to adopt.

 

Ingredients

• 400g beef mince
• 1 packet (single portion) of powdered onion soup (use vegetable if you can't find onion)
• 1 egg
• 50g butter cut into cubes, preferably at room temperature (but don't stress if you forgot to take it out of the fridge, like me)
• 6-8 slices of thin ham
• A large handful of grated cheddar cheese
• Ground black pepper to season

Serves 3-4 adults or 6 children

 

Instructions

• If your packet soup mix contains croutons, pour it through a sieve, remove the croutons and add any dried vegetables back into the mix
• Place the beef mince, butter, egg, soup mix and ground black pepper in a large bowl and combine well. I get stuck in with my hands
• Lay a length of clingfilm onto a flat surface - about the size of a normal baking tray
• Place the beef mince mixture onto the clingfilm and roll/flatten with a rolling pin or your hands, until the mixture is 5-8mm thick. Aim for a rectangle shape
• Lay a single layer of sliced ham over the mince, then sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over that

• Using the clingfilm, roll the mince over, so that you a long, rather unsavoury looking roll of meat, wrapped in the clingfilm. Flatten slightly with your hand and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up

The less said, the better really!

• When you are ready to cook the meatloaf, remove the clingfilm and place on a baking tray. Place into an oven at 180 degrees fan for 25-30 minutes

• Remove from the oven, cut into slices around 2cm thick and serve. I like to serve with rice and assorted vegetables

Brazilian Meatloaf

Cauliflower Cheese

I remember when my older sister started to earn money, probably around 14 or 15 years old. She and I both spent our teenage years teaching younger Chinese children - mainly additional help with English and Maths, and preparing children for the 11+. Often the children just needed some extra attention, as their parents were busy in the evenings working in takeaways or restaurants, and didn't have English as a first language. For some reason, my younger sister didn't follow this route of money-earning, but was instead set to work in a friend's chippy, for the princely sum of £1.42 per hour! Tuition was far more lucrative, and for those years, I think my rates ranged from £8 - £15 per hour. Not bad!

Anyway, at around this time we also started being allowed out to town on our own after Saturday Chinese Youth Club at the Pagoda Centre. My sister used to buy us treats with her wages (we still laugh about how my parents constantly told everyone she was so caring and generous for buying us a yoghurt!!). As a special treat, we sometimes also got western ready meals from Marks and Spencer for our dinner - two favourites being cottage pie and cauliflower cheese. I'm still hugely comforted nowadays by a plate of cottage pie, or cauliflower cheese, both served and mixed up with rice, of course.

My eldest and youngest loved this cauliflower cheese last night, although the middle one fussed and turned up his nose. We had it with boiled new potatoes and chicken thighs wrapped in pancetta, and it was very pleasant - although if we had not had potatoes to be used up, I would have definitely served it with rice. It could be varied by using broccoli florets, and maybe sprinkling some breadcrumbs over the top.

Update: I added macaroni to this dish last night, and it went down brilliantly with at least two children. Cook approx. 50g macaroni per person for 2/3 the time stated on the packet. Stir it into the cheese sauce before pouring it over the cauliflower, sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized cauliflower
• 40g butter
• 40g plain flour
• 400ml milk
• (Optional) A pinch of mustard powder, or a teaspoon of mustard (English or Dijon would be fine)
• 130g grated cheddar cheese
• (Optional) Grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top
• A small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and ground white pepper to season

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a side

Instructions

• Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, cut into florets and rinse
• Plunge the florets into boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Drain and arrange snugly in a baking tray. Pre-heat the oven to 185 degrees fan
• Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan and when it starts to bubble, add the flour. Using a balloon whisk, mix the flour and butter to form a roux, and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring all the time
• Add the milk to the roux, a splash at a time, whisking as you go. You will find that the roux remains lumpy, then eventually starts to thin and flow. Keep the heat on medium, adding more just as it begins to bubble. When all of the milk is added, you should have a thick, glossy sauce
• Add the cheddar cheese and (optional) mustard, reserving a little cheese for sprinkling on top. Continue to stir the mixture until the cheese has melted and the sauce is of a smooth consistency
• Pour the sauce over the cauliflower cheese and sprinkle the remaining cheddar (and parmesan if you're using it) over the top. Place it in the oven for 25 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbling
• Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving

Cauliflower Cheese

Served with Chicken Thighs wrapped in Pancetta and Boiled New Potatoes