Red Lentil Lasagne

For someone who previously said they’re not a big fan of lentils and beans, I seem to be cooking with them a lot lately. Now I understand them a bit better, I’m really starting to enjoy the flavour and texture they bring to a dish. The other great thing about them is that it’s so easy to whip up a meal without needing to worry about going out to the butcher for meat. They’re healthy too, I guess that’s another good thing.

Last week, we made lentil cottage pie and loved it. It was the first time I’d used red lentils and their versatility was immediately obvious. Needing something quick and easy for tonight’s dinner, I remembered my resolution to try the same lentil recipe as a lasagne and, as luck would have it, we had just about the right amount of everything required….apart from one vital component: lasagne. There turned out to be just enough to fill one, small dish. Just enough lasagne that is; as you can see from the picture, there was plenty of everything else!

As we suspected last week, the lentil ragu did indeed work well as lasagne. The tomatoey sauce is a lot like a meat ragu which, as lasagne lovers will agree, is the perfect partner to pasta, bechamel and cheese. The stuck-on pieces, while not particularly attractive, added a definite extra level of flavour.

Top tip: soak the lasagne sheets in cold water for 20 minutes prior to layering with sauce and bechamel. This will allow you to trim the lasagne sheets to easily fit your dish and prevent your kitchen from being littered with jagged pieces of pasta.