Recipe: Rainbow Vegetable Lasagne

For many people, a New Year represents a new start, with resolutions set out to improve certain aspects of life; but whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking or save money, change can be hard to implement. One thing that you can easily control however, is what passes your lips, so why not make 2013 the year to focus on food, and extend your culinary repertoire by developing a collection of dishes that not only taste delicious, but allow you to lead a healthier lifestyle as well.

One way to make your meals more nutritious is to focus on the colours of foods used within them. A large proportion of your daily food intake should be made up of a rainbow assortment of fruit and vegetables, which, as well as enhancing the aesthetic appeal of dishes, provide your body with the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to perform its daily functions.

The following recipe is for a much-loved Italian dish that has been colourfully adapted for a nutritional twist. It is perfectly suitable for vegetarians, however you could add mince to the filling, or even diced chicken, for a protein boost.

 

Rainbow Vegetable Lasagne

 

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cubed
• 1 courgette, peeled and cubed
• 1 yellow pepper and 1 green pepper, de-seeded and cubed
• Handful of mushrooms, washed and cubed
• 2 tins/cartons chopped tomatoes
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 stock cube
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh or dried mixed herbs

Cheese sauce:

• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml milk
• 75g cheese
 
• 6-8 lasagne sheets

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

2. Prepare the vegetables, chopping them into even sized chunks.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onion for 2 minutes until softened.

4. Add the other vegetables to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, the stock cube, and the herbs, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season as desired.

5. Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring to form a roux. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously to ensure the mixture remains smooth. Once the milk is added, continue stirring the sauce until it bubbles and thickens. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Season as desired.

6. Remove the vegetables from the heat and layer them into an ovenproof dish with the lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

7. Place the lasagne in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. When cooked, the lasagne sheets should be softened.

Quick Review: Ha Ha Veggie Bar, Camden Lock



 

Ha Ha Veggie Bar Opening Times

 

Monday to Thursday, 9:30 to 17:30

Friday, 10:30 to 17:00

Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 to 17:30

 

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On Saturday 6^th October I paid my first visit to Camden Lock - a cultured and interesting place, full of lots of different types of people, and fantastic stalls and stores.

 

In amongst the clothes, gifts, and general bits and bobs, were a host of street food stalls that immediately appealed to all senses with their offering of traditional dishes and flavours from around the world.

 

As one of the friends I was with is a vegetarian, she was naturally drawn to the Ha Ha Veggie Bar, and with a relatively varied and reasonably priced menu on offer, I decided to test it out too.

 

Run by a very charismatic, energetic and friendly gentleman, the stall offers freshly made vegetarian whole foods, including homemade vegan veggie burgers, available with a host of different toppings, vegetarian hot dogs, jacket potatoes, and falafel.

 

From the options, my friend chose the veggie burger with haloumi, while I opted for a pitta filled with falafel, salad and houmous. Both items were really delicious and full of flavour, proving that vegetarian food is anything but boring!! They were also satisfyingly filling for our hungry tums, giving us the lunchtime pick-me-up we needed to continue exploring.

 

Quick Assessment

 

Plus Points:

If you are in the Camden area I would definitely recommend seeing what Ha Ha Veggie Bar has to offer, as the owner's personality, and the way in which he interacts with Lock locals, makes the wait for your order as enjoyable as the consumption experience itself.

 

Negatives:

Although the burgers are homemade, I saw my falafel, as delicious as it was, come out of a packet. This did disappoint me slightly, and I would have been even more impressed if I had enjoyed a home-made experience like my friend!

 

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I will be returning to Camden again soon, so if there are any other must-try food stalls, I would love to hear about them!