The Baking Biker Chic

I can’t believe this time last week I was full to bursting with all the food I’d eaten. I’ve been in the gym four times this week and planning to be in over the weekend too. Am feeling so much better. Due to work I’ve been eating lots of veggies to keep me full throughout the day, however today I had some time off and into the kitchen I went.

I started off designing a BBQ black bean burger and while it was cooking I decided to make a simple but healthy lasagne. I’m not a huge pasta fan, I put it into the same category as cheese – when I was vegetarian, it seemed the only thing I could eat was cheese and pasta. My heart eventually stopped playing and I’ve never really been able to go back to those days.

So my lasagne had to be made without pasta. There’s lots of recipes out there – but this one is simple, very cheap to make and also gets the seal of approval from my Mum and Dad who came for tea tonight to taste test it for me.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 450g frozen soy mince (or dried equivalent) – the pack serves four
• 300g sweet potato, finely sliced and steamed
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 6-8 mushrooms sliced
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of vegan Worcester sauce
• 1 teaspoon of vecon
• 2 tablespoons of oregano (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
• 4 generous tablespoons of gram flour
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cup of cold water
• Tomatoes (for the topping)

The measurements of onion and garlic powder are detailed in the method below:

Method

• In a saucepan sauté the sliced red onion with a little water until soft
• Finely slice the sweet potato and steam until just soft
• Add the soy mince to the softened onion along with the vecon and mushrooms, cooking on a low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the soy mince has defrosted
• In a mixer, puree the tinned tomatoes, oregano, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and Worcester sauce until well mixed
• Add this mixture to the soy mince and onion and add a little water if too dry, simmering for 10-15 minutes (you don’t want too much liquid)
• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
• While the soy mince is simmering, make the sauce. Place the gram flour, nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, water and whisk until thoroughly mixed
• Place the gram flour mixture over a low heat and whisk continuously until thickened. You may need to add a little more water at this stage – you want a thick but not solid sauce
• In a dish, layer sweet potato first, then soy mince with a little of the ‘cheese’ sauce, keep going until your last layer is the sauce
• Slice your tomatoes and place on top, then sprinkle the whole dish with a mixture of nutritional yeast and oregano
• Either bake straight away or put in the fridge until  you are ready to eat this
• If baking, bake for 20 minutes – if freezing, you’ll need to adjust the baking times as appropriate.

Serve your lasagne with a crisp salad or a selection of steamed veg or some lovely crusty bread and perhaps a glass of red wine to balance all that goodness.