Simply gorgeous, this is! Nothing like blowing your own trumpet, but I’m sure that eating well, in addition to loving the cooking experience, really adds to recovering our health. Also for those of us who feel great anyhow, it surely sustains vitality.

I adore Italian food and it’s been really annoying at times, with eating wheat / gluten free, that I feel I miss out. However I’ve been experimenting more lately with brown rice pastas and homemade sauces, hence my lasagna success.

I eat dairy infrequently, so I added some to this bechamuel sauce for a treat, but to be honest, it didn’t need it and so would taste great without.

Here’s the script:

• Gluten / wheat free pasta sheets
• 1 large courgette
• 1 red pepper
• 2 carrots
• 3 portobello mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• Half veg stock cube
• Handful crushed walnuts or pecans
• 500 grams passata
• Mixed Italian herbs, salt and pepper

For the bechamuel sauce –

• 400ml soya milk or hemp drink
• 50g butter or coconut oil
• 50g brown rice flour or buckwheat flour
• Optional handful cheese, vegan cheese

Method –

1. Cut up all the veg fine, grate the carrot and crush the garlic
2. Add to saucepan with olive oil and herbs
3. Cook for 10 mins until soft
4. Add the nuts and passata and cook for a further 5-10mins
5. Place the butter or coconut oil in another pan
6. Once it’s runny, take off the boil and add the rice flour slowly, stirring out any lumps
7. Now with the paste, slowly add the soya milk
8. Once thick add the optional cheese and take off heat
9. Soak 6-8 pasta sheets for 5 mins
10. Turn oven on to 200 degrees
11. Place a layer of the veg sauce in your baking tray
12. Add a layer of pasta sheets
13. Next layer with bechamuel sauce and veg
14. Add a final layer of pasta sheets
15. End with bechamuel sauce ontop and a sprinkle of cheese is desired
16. Cook for 30-40mins until slightly brown
17. Serve with salad

The soya milk tastes better than a milk version and the nuts give it a lovely crunch

If you make this or have any other versions, add your comments below 🙂