You won’t be missing the meat in this veggie winter warmer.

Serves: 4 Preparation Time: 25 minutes (10 minutes for resting) Cooking Time: 1 hr 5 minutes

You’ll need:

For the lasagna:

6 round shallots, quartered

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 kg mixed mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp oregano

4 sprigs fresh thyme

175g lasagne sheets

225g mozzarella, grated

50g Parmesan

For the bechamel sauce:

50g butter

2 round shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

50g plain flour

750ml whole milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

200g Parmesan

Salt and black pepper, to taste

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180°c.
In a large pan fry the shallots, carrot and celery in the butter, until soft. Add 800g of the mushrooms, the garlic, oregano and thyme and cook until golden. Put to one side.
Start the bechamel by heating the butter in a saucepan until melted and add the shallots and garlic. Cook until soft and then add the flour. Cook stirring rapidly for 3-4 minutes.
Add the milk and whisk until smooth and thickened. Add the mustard, then mix in the Parmesan and season well with salt and black pepper.
Assemble the lasagne by spreading half of the mushrooms in the base of the dish, then a third of the cheesy bechamel. Top with a layer of pasta sheets and a third of the mozzarella. Repeat these layers, and finish with a final layer of the bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.
While the lasagne is cooking, spread the remaining mushrooms out on a tray and drizzle with oil and salt. Put into the oven for the last 15 minutes of cooking time until golden and crisp.
Remove the lasagne the oven, top with the crispy mushrooms and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Credit: ukshallot.com