225 g frozen or 450g fresh spinach<br />
15 g butter<br />
175 g cottage cheese<br />
1 egg, lightly beaten<br />
2 tbsp double cream<br />
25 g freshly grated Italian hard style cheese<br />
15 g gruyere cheese, grated<br />
6 sheets fresh lasagne or dried no precook lasagne<br />
125 g mozzarella cheese, grated1 onion, chopped<br />
1 clove garlic, crushed<br />
1 tbsp olive oil<br />
2 tbsp tomato puree<br />
2 x 400 g cans of chopped tomatoes<br />
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley<br />
1 tbsp torn basil leaves<br />
1 tbsp dried oregano<br />
1/2 tsp sugar<br />
salt & freshly ground black pepper<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. To make the tomato sauce, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened. Add the tomato puree and sauté for 1 minute. Drain and discard the juice from the cans of tomatoes and add the tomatoes to the sautéed onions. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Season to taste.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, to prepare the spinach and cheese layer, cook the spinach, drain thoroughly and then sauté in the butter for a couple of minutes. In a food processor, blend together the spinach, cottage cheese, egg, double cream and Italian hard style cheese. Season with a little black pepper.</li>
<li>To assemble the lasagne, spread a thin layer of sauce over the base of a fairly deep ovenproof dish measuring about 23 X 15 cm (9 X 6in). Lay two sheets of lasagne on top, spoon the remaining spinach mixture on top and then cover with a third of the Mozzarella cheese and a third of the tomato sauce.</li>
<li>Lay the remaining two sheets of lasagne on top, cover with the remaining tomato sauce and Mozzarella cheese and then sprinkle the extra Gruyere cheese over the top. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.</li>
</ol>
Spinach & Cheese Vegetarian Lasagne
Try meat-free Monday with this veggie version of the Italian classic. Serve with some garlic bread & a side salad.
