Tuna Pasta Lasagne

Sounds odd, looks odd, tastes great!

I'm going to eat you... yes I am.

This creation came about after I was perusing (attempt to sound fancy) through a food booklet that I bought a while back from WHSmith's (attempt to be fancy - failed). This particular booklet is called 'Eat Right For Your Life' and is written by Lisa Middleton, a sports dietitian from Australia. Right off the bat, I knew that I was going to like it because not only is this little gem full of quick, simple and healthy recipes but the chapter layout displays what particular foods are especially good (and not so good) for different types of people at different stages of life and also lists the nutritional reasons behind these selections. I'll admit that even though I'm not a breastfeeding mother, nor a gym junkie, nor going through the menopause (gasp!), I still found this book to be a great read full of lots of helpful information about how to get the most out of your diet whatever your situation. 

Now, onto the FOOD! There was a recipe in the 'Singles' chapter of the book *hugs cat closer* for a tuna and bean lasagne. It sounded pretty easy and as lasagne is a favourite in my family (we're not Italian, we're just greedy) I wanted to try it out on them. The only problem was that instead of a white sauce the recipe called for the use of low-fat ricotta, to which my mum just said 'no', all the 'no'. Mum's not a ricotta fan it turns out. Whilst I do like ricotta, I too was still pulled towards the idea of a more traditional creamy white sauce, where the smooth texture complements the heartiness of the meat ragu making for a rather indulgent dish. However, I'm also aware that this involves making a rue from flour, butter, milk and sometimes lots of cheese which definitely loses nutritional points - don't get me wrong, this type of sauce is like liquefied fantasy cloud wishes (not really a thing) but it's more of a treat food. Therefore, after looking to Pintrest for inspiration and launching a full on assault on the kitchen cupboards, I came up with a sauce replacement and tweaked the rest of recipe a bit to make a dinner that my family could enjoy without entering a week-long food coma afterwards.

Get in mah belleh!

Ingredients:

For the red sauce:

2 x small tins of tuna (drained)

1 x large tin of sweetcorn

2 x onions, diced

2 tsps olive oil

Whatever extra vegetables you would like (we added some frozen veg mix and some chickpeas)

1 x 500ml carton of tomato passata 

1-2 x tsp mixed Italian herbs (can sub for basil,oregano or whatever you like)

2 x bay leaves 

Pepper to taste

For the white sauce:

1/2 head of a large cauliflower, stem removed and chopped into small florets

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup almond milk

1-2 cloves of garlic (2 if you really hate Edward Cullen)

Pepper to taste

Extras:

10-12 lasagne sheets (we used whole-wheat ones)

80-120g reduced fat cheddar (or normal cheddar) - grated

Optional - chopped tomatoes for topping

1 x casserole/lasagne dish (roughly 12" by 6")

Some tin foil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Steam the cauliflower florets in a saucepan over boiling water until fork tender and then remove from heat.

In another saucepan over medium heat, fry the onions in the oil until translucent and then add in the tuna, sweetcorn, other vegetables, passata, mixed herbs and bay leaves. Stir, reduce heat to low, season to taste and cover for 15 minutes. 

In a food processor, combine the steamed cauliflower florets, vegetable stock, almond milk and garlic cloves (you can also add a little bit of cheese if you fancy) and blend into a smooth white sauce.

Remove the bay leaves from the red sauce.

In the dish, cover the base with a thin layer of the red, tuna sauce. Then top with lasagne sheets followed by a layer of white sauce*. Then, add another layer of red sauce followed by lasagne sheets and more white sauce. Repeat this once more so you are left with a white sauce topping and then sprinkle over the cheese (if desired add some black pepper, chopped tomatoes and more herbs on top as well). 

Cover with tin foil (taking care to not let it touch the cheesy topping) and place in the oven for 35 minutes. After this, remove the foil and leave in the over for a further 10-15 minutes or until the top is browned slightly and a bit more crisp. 

Remove, allow to cool and attack with a shovel!

*If you like, you could also try sprinkling some of the cheese within the white sauce layers to get that gooey texture and cheesy taste more dispersed throughout the lasagne, just remember to leave some for the top. 

This recipe should serve 4-6 people but in my family we EAT LASAGNE, so it just managed to placate 4. If my younger brother had been present this may have been a different story.

Un-photogenic but damn tasty, a bit like Uma Thurman.