NEW: spinach & ricotta lasagne

This lasagne is very different to a classic lasagne and it's fantastic. It's rich, creamy and packed full of flavour - plus it's very simple to pull together. The creamy ricotta layer is delicious mixed with the wilted spinach, with the rich tomato and lentil layer adding the tomato edge you need to balance the flavour, finsihed with crispy lasagne sheets and a grating of parmesan cheese for good measure - you're going to love it!

Serves 6 and takes 65 minutes to cook

Ingredients

For the lasagne 

• 1 pack of lasagne sheets 

• 100g grated parmesan 

For the tomato sauce

• 265g semi-dried tomatoes (or sun-dried tomatoes)

• 2 tablespoons of harissa paste 

• 1 large onion, peeled and diced

• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced

• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary 

• 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes 

• 2 x 400g cans of brown lentils, drained

• 2 tablespoons of thick balsamic vinegar 

• Olive oil

• Salt

For the white sauce

• 2 x pots of ricotta cheese 

• 4 heaped tablespoons of cream cheese

• 1 tablespoon of green pesto 

• 120g chopped spinach

• Dash of milk, as needed

• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 190C, fan setting.

2. Place the semi-dried tomatoes (plus their oil), 2 tablespoons of harissa paste and a pinch of salt into a powerful blender and blend until a smooth paste forms. Place to one side until needed. 

3. Place a large pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the chopped onions, celery, garlic and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes until the onions become soft. 

4. Once soft, mix through the blended red sauce, dried rosemary, chopped tomatoes, drained lentils and balsamic vinegar. Reduce the heat to a very low heat and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, mixing every so often - the mixture should already be quite thick, so don’t let the bottom burn.

5. While the sauce simmers, rinse out the blender and add the ricotta, cream cheese, pesto and a good pinch of salt. Pour into a small pan over a medium heat and add the chopped spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted and the sauce is warmed through.

6. Now you are ready to assemble the lasagne; spoon one third of the tomato mixture onto the bottom of a deep baking dish. Top with one quarter of the ricotta spinach mixture and sprinkle over some parmesan cheese before covering with a single layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat this process two more times until you have finished the tomato mixture and you are left with lasagne sheets on top. Top with a final layer of ricotta mixture and sprinkle with parmesan.

8. Cook for 35-40 minutes until bubbling and golden on top.