So we are back after a quite long pause from the blogosphere. Truth be told, it's very difficult to keep a hobby alive when other things are either getting in your way or are more important for your inner piece and quiet. These past few months have been a bit stressful for me in my day to day job, as I learn new things and I gain new responsibilities. Outside of my job, we adopted a beautiful White Shepherd puppy. And I tell you, it ain't easy to care for a puppy, especially when that puppy is a big giant with an attitude of a tiny dog.
These days we pass time teaching her the basic principles of training and she enjoys the treats that she gets during training. Thankfully Switzerland is quite a dog-friendly country and we didn't have any issues bringing the dog from Greece here, but also getting accepted to have a dog in our apartment. In contrast with my home country, Switzerland allows you to have a dog (almost everywhere) but with rules. The community realises that having a dog comes with a lot of responsibilities and if you are not able to take ownership of those, then you shouldn't have a dog in the first place.
Lately we've been experimenting with eating less meat and incorporating more vegetable based meals. In Greek cuisine, vegetables are the basis of many recipes, but unfortunately for us, some of the ingredients we find in Greece are not easily found in Switzerland. Nevertheless, one has to take advantage of what they can find and the solution to eating plant-based is to only cook seasonal. That means with vegetables that are in season when you cook them. For us that meant spinach and cauliflower.
Due to the colder temperatures we've had lately, I was craving something comforting like a hot plate of pasta. Lasagna came instantly to mind as we haven't had those in a while and they are always so delicious to eat. But this was going to be a difficult task to do. How do you make lasagna delicious without any meat sauce? Well my ladies and gents. You make...a cauliflower bechamel. Yes, yes. You read that right. A creamy and spicy cauliflower bechamel that has nothing less than the real stuff. Ok, enough talking and more baking. Let's see how to make these lasagna.
Vegetarian lasagna with Cauliflower and Spinach Bechamel
ingredients
1 head cauliflower
3 medium potatoes
1 cup vegetable broth (you can use chicken if you're not vegetarian)
2 cups spinach
50gr margarine (vegetable butter)
salt,pepper
16 sheets lasagna
grated parmesan cheese
How do I make it?
1. First step on this adventure is to cut the cauliflower head in small pieces and peel the potatoes. Then fill a large pot with water and add the cauliflower with the potatoes. Let them boil until they are soft.
2. Once your vegetables have softened it's time to bring out the blender. Place the cauliflower, potatoes, vegetable broth and margarine in the blender and pulse on high speed until you get a nice creamy consistence. Salt and pepper in your preference and pulse again. If the bechamel needs more salt, don't be afraid and add some.
3. Once your bechamel has the desired saltiness, in a bowl keep the half of the bechamel. Add to the remaining bechamel in the blender the spinach and pulse on high speed. Again pulse until you get a nice light green color and the spinach has been incorporated in the mixture.
4. Take a medium pan and with a spoon cover the bottom with some of the white bechamel. Place three to four sheets of lasagna and then layer with the spinach bechamel. Make sure that the bechamel covers all the surface of the lasagna. Repeat the layer of the lasagna and then add some cauliflower bechamel. Repeat this action until you get a final layer of bechamel at the top. Add some grated parmesan to the top.
5. Bake the lasagna at 180C for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Once they are cooked, let the lasagna cool for a bit before cutting a piece, because otherwise the bechamel will fall out of the lasagna when it's still hot. Enjoy with a cup of white wine!
