Beefy meals without meat

A GOOD OLD FASHIONED lasagne is an incredibly satisfying thing to eat. Layers upon layers of rich sauce, snug between sheets of pasta. Throw in some garlic bread, a sharp green salad and a juicy big glass of red wine and I’m sold. At this time of year, it would seem far too indulgent to make the long-winded meat and cheese version so I’ve found a very quick vegetarian way of rustling up a lasagne from start to finish in just over an hour. It’s light enough on calories, and one that you’ll probably be able to get children and non-dieters to eat without moaning that it’s chick-on-a-diet food. It’s also one of those dinners that you can get two nights out of, which always makes me incredibly happy. Coming home in the depths of winter and knowing that dinner just needs to be re-heated is a great feeling.

Initially, I felt the urge to sauté the aubergine separately to get more flavour into it, but then I forced myself to cook “badly” and bung it all in together, knowing that if I sautéed it off separately, it would soak up far too many glugs of olive oil. So remember, this is a dish that you hurl together, then layer up and bake. Load it up with some herbs or a pinch of chilli, whatever seasoning you like. The bad accessories are some creme fraiche and grated cheddar, but I figure this served four of us generously, over two nights, so really the amount of creme fraiche and cheddar consumed was minimal and very permissible, considering how many vegetables we crammed into the dish.

The other recipe is from Donna Hay and when I read it and saw the dried figs in the sauce, I thought it would be either really good or really creepy. Luckily, the figs just add stickiness to the caramelised onions, then get rounded out with stock and salty goats’ cheese. Again, this could be a sauce you make the night before, so all you have to do is cook some pasta and add your sauce. It’s another nice veggie dish that actually tastes quite meaty, which is the type of dish we often crave at this time of year.

LAZY LASAGNE

Serves 8

Ingredients

Good glug olive oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

Salt and pepper

500g mushrooms, roughly chopped

3 tins tomatoes

2 aubergines, diced

Dried oregano, to taste

10-12 lasagne sheets

1 tub creme fraiche (approx 200g)

250g cheddar, grated

Method

Preheat an oven to 190 degrees/gas 5. Sweat the onions in the olive oil in a large saucepan until they are soft, then add the garlic. Season well and then throw in the mushrooms and tomatoes. Together they produce quite a lot of water, so when the mixture is bubbling away and very liquidey, add the aubergines which will soak up all the excess liquid. Cook out for about 10 minutes, check the seasoning and if you want you could add some tomato puree and herbs at this stage.

In a good-sized gratin dish, layer up one layer of tomato mixture, then the ready to use dried lasagne sheets, breaking them to fit, then more tomato, then another layer of pasta. Finish up with a very thin layer of tomato sauce on the top. Sprinkle the cheddar on top and then dot the creme fraiche in blobs evenly on top of the cheese. Bake at 190 degrees/gas 5 for 45 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

PASTA WITH GOATS' CHEESE AND CARAMELISED RED ONIONS

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

4 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced

Few sprigs rosemary and thyme

Salt and pepper

1 tsp soft brown sugar

Few soft dried figs, finely sliced

80ml red wine vinegar

125ml beef or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

250g fettuccine

50-75g soft goats’ cheese

Extra olive oil and Parmesan to garnish

Method

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and sweat the onions with the rosemary, very slowly with a lid on, until they are very soft. Season well. Then remove the lid, add the sugar and figs and heat up until the sugar starts to caramelise the onions, which will take a few minutes. Add the red wine vinegar, which will deglaze the pan. Let most of the liquid evaporate and then add the stock. Simmer for a few minutes until well seasoned and a nice thick consistency.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water and then toss with some olive oil and divide between the plates. Spoon some sauce over the top and add some goats’ cheese, thyme leaves and Parmesan. Serve straight away.

Food cooked and styled by Domini and Peaches Kemp.

Domini recommends

Instant miso soup sachets, available in most health shops. A great way to take the edge off post-Christmas hunger pangs and stop you reaching for that pack of crisps, or in my case, more cheese and crackers