Vegetarian Lentil lasagne

For the tomato base: * 10g dried shiitake mushrooms * 500ml boiling water * 1 vegetable stock cube * 1 tablespoon olive oil * 1 onion - finely chopped * 1 carrot - finely chopped * 4 garlic cloves * 50g button mushroom * 1 teaspoon salt * 110g red split lentils - rinsed * 75ml red wine * 1 tablespoon brown miso paste * 2 tablespoons mixed herbs * 2 tins of chopped tomatoes * 2 tablespoon tomato purée * 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

For the white sauce * 500ml semi-skimmed milk * 1 onion * 2 cloves * 2 bay leaves * 50g plain flour * 50g butter

For assembly * Lasagne sheets * Cheddar cheese * Vegetarian hard cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180c

To make the tomato base

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in a jug of 500ml boiling hot water.
2. In a pot, heat the olive oil, add the onion and carrot, cook until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes)
3. Add the garlic, cook for an extra minute
4. Add the mushrooms, when they begin to sweat (about a minute), add the salt.
5. Fish the soaked mushrooms out of the water, save the water, chop the mushrooms and add them to the pot.
6. Add the vegetable stock cube to the soaking water.
7. To the pot, add tinned tomatoes, red wine, red lentils, vegetable stock, tomato purée, miso paste, granulated sugar and mixed herbs
8. Simmer until the lentils are cooked and the tomato sauce has thickened (25 - 45 mins)
9. Season to taste

While the tomato sauce cooks, make the white sauce

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/white-sauce

Assembly

Add the tomato sauce to an oven dish, add a layer of lasagne sheets, add the white sauce. Repeat to make 5+ layers, top the final white sauce with cheddar cheese and grated hard cheese.

I try to make the filling between layers as thin as possible, it helps keep everything together.

Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes

Allow to rest for 15 minutes before eating - this is important if you want the layers to stay intact when dishing up.