With those big purple beetroots taking over the allotments right now – make good use of them with this perfect alternative to meat. Their juicy cooked texture along with their rich colour will persuade any deep-rooted omnivore to make veg their preference. Use any cheese you like to add depth, alternatively go all out and make it vegan with non-dairy alternatives and egg free pasta.

Ingredients

500g fresh beetroot – once peeled and grated

2 onions, peeled & chopped

15ml (1Tbsp) olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

15ml (1Tbsp) fresh thyme, chopped

Pinch of sugar

2.5ml (1/2 tsp) salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

70g butter

70g flour

700ml milk

5ml (1tsp) mustard

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt & pepper

75g cheddar cheese, grated

 

250g Fresh lasagne sheets or use dried alternative (amount varies)

250g Taleggio cheese, sliced

25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°
2. Heat the oil in a deep sized frying pan and gently fry the onions until soft.
3. Add the garlic and continue to fry for another minute.
4. Stir in the freshly grated beetroot and add the thyme, sugar, salt and season with pepper, leave to simmer gently while you prepare the sauce.
5. To make the sauce – place the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat and whisk or stir until thickened. This should take around 5 minutes.
6. Season the sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir in the mustard and grated cheddar cheese.
7. Grease a 25 x 20cm oven proof dish with a little extra live oil and add a sheet of lasagne pasta to the bottom. Depending on the size of your dish you may need to cut another sheet of pasta to cover the bottom completely.
8. Spoon over one-third of the beetroot over the lasagne base and drizzle white sauce. Repeat twice. Make sure you reserve approximately one-third of the white sauce for the topping.
9. Add a further layer of pasta and cover with remaining white sauce.
10. Cover the top with sliced Taleggio cheese and sprinkle over the freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
11. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.