If you think this dish is just for vegetarians, you’d be wrong! I am usually a total carnivore, but this dish left me 100% satisfied! With its rich cheese and leek sauce and beefy mushroom bite, it’s a great alternative to meat and really easy to make!

I would suggest you serve this dish with a salad as it is quite rich and filling, but really doesn’t take too long to make. The prep time itself takes no more than 25 minutes, so it’s a perfect evening meal for weekday or weekends and it freezes well too! Who needs ready meals when you can make your own great food in next to no time at all!

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

3 fat leeks or 4 thin ones

4 large Portobello mushrooms (you can basically use any variety)

3 fat cloves of garlic (optional)

1 pack of fresh Lasagna pasta sheets (from your supermarket)

200g of Ricotta cheese

150g of grated Gruyere cheese (keep 50g aside)

100g of blue cheese (I used Stilton, but Gorgonzola is great)

80g of grated Parmesan (keep 30g aside)

100ml of single cream

4 stems of Thyme

50g of butter

1 tablespoon of oil

A few pinches of Maldon sea salt

Generous seasoning of cracked black pepper

Method

Thinly slice your leeks and wash the slices in a colander, ensuring they are drained of excess water. Finely chop your garlic cloves and add to a preheated pan on a medium heat, along with your butter and oil. Add the leeks to the pan also and sweat them off until they are translucent and cooked through, but not browned.

Crumble in your blue cheese and stir well. Add your 50g of grated Parmesan and 100g of grated Gruyere and mix thoroughly until cheeses have melted. Pour in your cream, salt and pepper and add your Ricotta. Stir the whole mixture well and take it off the hob and set aside. Slice your mushrooms across their width (into ½ inch thick slices) and set aside.

Choose a suitable oven proof dish for your Lasagna, I chose a rectangular Pyrex dish (roughly 30cm x 20cm) and preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Set aside some of the cheese and leek sauce, which will be used to top the Lasagna before going in the oven. Begin building your Lasagna by lining the bottom of your dish with sheets of pasta (cut some if you need to make it fit into your chosen dish, don’t worry about it being in lots of pieces) then pour just enough of the cheese and leek mixture to thinly coat the first layer of pasta and then add a layer of mushrooms onto the sauce. Once laid out, tear some of the thyme leaves off the woody stalk and sprinkle them on top of the mushrooms and then add a little of the leek and cheese mixture on top. Add your next layer of pasta and repeat the process until you have filled the oven dish.

Using the portion of leek and cheese sauce you set aside, ensure you have topped the final layer of mushrooms with another sheet of pasta and spread the remaining sauce on top. Liberally sprinkle your remaining 50g of grated Gruyere and 30g of Parmesan over the top and then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.