Lasagna or Lasagne is the ultimate comfort food when you are feeling extra special. In this recipe, Chef Kunal Kapur shows you how to prepare vegetable lasagna in two different ways. Yes, your favourite American Lasagna without a pasta sheet and without an oven. Sounds interesting, right?
Watch the full recipe to know how to make delicious, cheesy, oozing lasagna with and without an oven.
Ingredients:
Veg Lasagne (Classic Recipe & Potato Lasagne) ~Serves 4~ Lasagne dish (medium size) – 1no Lasagne sheets (dried) – 20nos Cheese cheddar – a small block Pizza cheese (go cheese) – 1 block
TOMATO SAUCE: Olive oil – 4tbsp Garlic chopped – 1tbsp Celery chopped – 1tbsp Onion diced – 1 cup Carrots diced – ½ cup Yellow Zucchini diced – ¼ cup Green Zucchini diced – ¼ cup Broccoli florets – 1 cup Salt – to taste Pepper – a generous pinch Basil leaves – few sprigs Tomato (blanched and chopped – 2½ cups Tomato puree – ½ cup
FOR WHITE SAUCE: Butter – 4tbsp All-Purpose Flour – 2tbsp Milk – 300ml Salt – to taste Pepper powder – a pinch Nutmeg – a pinch
FOR ASSEMBLING: Lasagne Sheets (dried) – 5nos Mozzarella Cheese (grated) – 2cups Parsley chopped – handful FOR POTATO LASAGNE: Potato (thinly sliced, medium) – 1½ cups
FOR POTATO LASAGNE: Potato (thinly sliced, medium) – 1½ cups
Steps
| 1 | GET THIS READY BEFORE YOU COOK Preheat the oven . |
| 2 | Out Make shift oven needs a kadai or deep vessel, fill in 2kg salt, place a ring in the centre, keep a cover ready to close the vessel. Alternatively you can use your large pressure cooker as well. |
| 3 | FOR TOMATO SAUCE :Heat a pan and pour olive oil, garlic, celery and onions. Saute them for a minute and add in the carrots, zucchini, broccoli, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Cook them on high heat for 3mins. Add blanched and chopped tomatoes along with tomato puree and cook it for another 4mins. Check and correct the seasoning. Make sure that the veggies are quite moist, in case the sauce is dry then add a dash of water to make it chunky but saucy. Turn off the heat and keep aside. |
| 4 | FOR WHITE SAUCE :Melt butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook on low heat till it bubbles, pour in the milk at this stage. Stir and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and keep aside. |
| 5 | FOR ASSEMBLING THE CLASSIC VEG LASAGNE (IN OVEN)For this recipe I am using a baking dish 7” long, 3” wide and 3”in depth. In an oven proof dish add a thin layer of the tomato sauce, place a lasagne sheet. Break some sheets if required to cover the entire dish. Add some tomato sauce on top, pour some white sauce on top of it, sprinkle grated cheese, some chopped parsley and place another lasagne sheet. Repeat this process till you reach the top of the dish. On the top cover it with tomato sauce, top up with white sauce, add grated cheese, parsley and then place the dish in a pre heated oven for 30-40min. Remove from the oven when it is ready and wait for 5 mins for it to settle. Cut, scoop and serve. |
| 6 | FOR ASSEMBLING LASAGNE WITHOUT SHEETS For this recipe you can use the same dish as above 7” long, 3” wide and 3”in depth. Make sure you thinly slice the potatoes. In an oven-proof dish add a thin layer of the tomato sauce, place slices of potato overlapping each other. Add some tomato sauce on top, pour some white sauce on top of it, sprinkle grated cheese, some chopped parsley and place another row of overlapping potato slices. Repeat this process till you reach the top of the dish. On the top cover it with tomato sauce, top up with white sauce, add grated cheese, parsley and then place the dish in a pre heated kadai with salt on to the base. Place a ring or a bowl in the centre of the hot salt and on this ring place the lasagna dish. Cover the kadai and cook for 30-40mins. Once ready remove and wait for 5 mins for it to settle. Cut, scoop and serve. |
TIPS & TRICKS FOR MAKING LASAGNE
-Use a deep dish so that you have at least 3-4layers of lasagne sheets.
-Make sure that you add sauce first in the dish or else the first layer of pasta will burn.
-Top layer should have a lot of sauce to completely cover the top sheet of pasta. If not it will burn and harden the lasagne
-Cover in foil before baking and then in the last 10 minutes uncover and cook.
-If using dry pasta then do not boil and use it as it will become mushy
-Add your choice of lasagne its your after all
(Recipe By Kunal Kapur)
