Pasta-less Gluten-Free Lasagne
Author: 74Iz8bhVOME
It is possible to make a lasagne without pasta as this gluten-free lasagne recipe demonstrates.
Ingredients
For the lasagne sheets
  • 600-700 g (1½ lb) leeks, the bigger the better
For the meat sauce
  • 500 g (1 lb) minced beef or lamb
  • 400 g (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
  • 300 ml (10 fl oz) meat or vegetable stock
  • 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 25 g (1 oz) butter
  • Salt
  • Pepper
For the white sauce
  • 500 ml (16 fl oz) of milk
  • 200 g (7 oz) of e.g. grated cheddar cheese (optional)
  • 3 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)
Instructions
Prepare the leeks
  1. Trim the ends of the leeks and slit them lengthways along the long oval axis.
  2. Open out the leeks and separate into sheets. Only the very centre of the leeks cannot be used in this way and should be chopped and added to the meat sauce.
  3. Blanche the sheets in boiling, salted water until very soft - about 4 minutes. Remove from the water and drain.
Prepare the meat sauce
  1. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and leftover chopped leek. Cook gently for about 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
  2. Add the meat and garlic. Continue to cook until all the meat has turned brown.
  3. Stir the cornflour into the stock and add it to the pan together with the tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
  5. If your sauce is not nice and thick after 45 minutes, continue to simmer with the lid removed to allow the sauce to thicken up.
Prepare the white sauce
  1. Melt the butter in a pan and whisk in the flour. Continue cooking over a low heat with whisking for 2 minutes.
  2. Place the milk in a pan and whisk in the cornstarch. Bring the milk to the boil.
  3. Once the milk has boiled and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat and stir in about two-thirds of the grated cheese.
Make the lasagne
  1. Construct your lasagne in a lasagne dish by creating layers of meat sauce, leek sheets and white sauce.
  2. Sprinkle the final white sauce layer with the remaining grated cheese and bake in the oven at 160°C/320°F for 35 minutes.
  3. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Calories: 460 Fat: 29.9 Sugar: 8.2 Fiber: 2.7 Protein: 22.7 Cholesterol: 83.3
Titli's Tips
There are two important elements to the success of your lasagne. Firstly, the sauces must be thick; there is no dry pasta to soak up excess liquid. Secondly, the leeks must be soft; if they are too firm you will have a little difficulty in cutting the lasagne.


You can use potato starch in place of corn starch for this recipe. If gluten-free is important to you remember to check the packet to see whether traces of gluten may be present or use a certified gluten-free brand. Pure corn starch is gluten-free but If the product is made in a facility that also processes wheat flour there is always the possibility of some cross-contamination.


You can make this in individual portion-sized dishes too if you prefer. And you can also replace the meat sauce with a vegetarian version such as this one.


Most hard or semi-hard cheeses will work for the sauce. You can even use highly-flavoured cheeses such as Stilton or Gorgonzola but you will need to reduce the amount you add to avoid overpowering the lasagne. This lasagne freezes very well.
Recipe by Titli's Busy Kitchen at http://titlisbusykitchen.com/recipe/pasta-less-gluten-free-lasagne-recipe