Pastitsio (vegan)

Want to impress your vegetarian/vegan friends?A vegan variation on a traditional Greek dish. It’s made in two parts: a tomato and lentil ragout or sauce, plus a bechamel (classic white) sauce. Very good served with a big green salad.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 160g wholemeal macaroni or penne

For the tomato & lentil ragout

• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 large onion,chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic,crushed
• 3 courgettes,cut lengthways,then sliced into half moons
• 1 large red pepper,sliced into square chunks
• 1 tin brown or green lentils,drained or 100g dried,cooked
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 level tsp cinnamon
• salt &black pepper

For the bechamel sauce

• 30g vegetable margarine
• 3 tsp wholemeal flour
• 225ml soya milk
• 1 small onion stuck with a few cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch dried thyme
• pinch grated nutmeg
• salt & black pepper
• 1 tbsp yeast flakes

Method

1. Start the ragout: fry the onions until translucent. Add red pepper, courgette and garlic and cook until soft.
2. Add tomatoes,herbs and spices.Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile,put medium pan of water on to boil for the macaroni and preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
4. Add lentils to ragout, stirring in gently, then reduce heat and allow to simmer gently.
5. Now make the bechamel sauce: melt margarine in pan over low heat. When it’s gently bubbling, add flour and stir with wooden spoon to incorporate well. (The smooth paste which forms is called a roux.) Keep stirring the roux so the flour cooks, but without burning the fat. Add the soya milk in about 3-4 stages, stirring well after each batch so lumps don ’t form. (If they do, use a balloon whisk to beat lumps out!)
6. Add rest of ingredients and simmmer on a very low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring to avoid sticking.
7. While white sauce is simmering, boil the pasta according to the packet instructions.
8. Drain pasta and put half of it in a layer at the bottom of a casserole dish.
9. Add half the ragout, then repeat layers with the rest of the pasta and ragout.
10. Remove onion and bay leaf from bechamel sauce, adjust seasoning if necessary and pour over casserole.
11. Bake in a hot oven for 20-25 minutes.

Home — Receipes — Starters — Mains — Desserts — Misc.