Roasted Veggie Bake

Packed full of beautiful colours & flavours!

This was a recipe that I made by accident as I was actually intending to make something else then this just sort of happened...and it's really tasty!

I love the textures and flavours of each layer. It's like a lasagne but minus the pasta and the roasted veggies give it a whole new flavour.

The cauliflower and cashew sauce is a really nice, healthy alternative to a typical lasagne sauce and you can add some vegan cheese in there too to make it extra creamy plus sprinkle a little on top.

I didn't use cheese in this one as I don't have it in the fridge that often but I imagine it would have been a delicious addition. I quite like violife for putting into sauces or sprinkling on top.

To ensure your red wine is vegan visit Barnivore: your vegan wine, beer, and liquor guide to check your alcohol! Feel free to omit the wine also if you are cooking for younger children - it still tastes great!

How do we do it?

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A nice healthy and tasty alternative to lasagne, naturally gluten free too.

Recipe - serves 6

Roasted Veg

• Drizzle Olive Oil

• 1 Courgette

• 2 Red Peppers

• 200g Mushrooms

• 2 Carrots

• Handful Broccoli Florets

• 4 -5 Sweet Potatoes

• Sprinkle Rosemary

• 2 Aubergines

Tomato Base Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 Red Onion

• 2 Garlic Cloves

• 1 Tbsp Yeast Extract/ Marmite

• 1 Tbsp Rosemary

• 1 tsp Basil

• 1 tsp Paprika

• 2 Tbsp Tomato Puree

• 2 Cans Chopped Tomatoes

• 1/2 Cup Vegan Red Wine

Creamy White Sauce Topping

• 1/2 Cauliflower

• 1 Cup Cashews

• 4 Cups Plant Milk

• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

• 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

• Pinch Salt

• Pinch Pepper

• Pinch Grated Nutmeg

Method

1. Soak cashews in a bowl of boiling water and set aside.

2. Drizzle oil to cover base of a large oven proof dish and heat on 180°C. Roughly chop courgette, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, sweet potato and broccoli into medium sized chunks. Add to hot oil and stir well to ensure all veggies are covered. Cook until soft.

3. Drizzle oil in a second large oven proof dish and heat on 180°C. Thinly slice aubergines long ways and roast in the oil until soft and slightly browned.

4. Next begin to make your tomato sauce layer. Add oil to frying pan and heat. Roughly chop onion and fry along with the garlic until they soften. Add yeast extract, rosemary, basil, paprika and tomato puree and stir well.

5. Pour in tinned tomatoes and red wine. Stir to mix well and let simmer on a low heat to thicken whilst your veggies are roasting and you go on to prepare the creamy sauce layer.

6. Chop cauliflower and place in a food processor. Blend well so you end up with a tiny pieces of cauliflower.

7. Drain cashews and add them to the cauliflower. Blitz in the food processor until well combined.

8. Add mustard, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt & pepper and blend.

9. Pour in plant milk and blend up well to create a nice smooth consistency for your sauce. If it seems to thick keep adding in plant milk a little at a time.

10. To create a smoother consistency I like to pop my sauce in a blender (I use a Nutri Bullet) Once you have the consistency you desire transfer to a sauce pan, grate in some nutmeg to taste and heat on a medium heat.

11. Once all 3 layers are ready you can begin to asemble the bake. Line the bottom of the large oven proof dish with a layer of aubergine.

12. Then put your roast vegetables on top and spread to cover the aubergine. Top with your tomato sauce.

13. Next pour over half of the white creamy sauce then place the rest of your aubergine slices on top.

14. Finally top with the rest of the white sauce, sprinkle with vegan cheese or cook without.

15. Cook on 180°C on the top shelf of the oven for around 25-30minutes until the top of the bake is golden brown.

16. Cut into portions and serve with rice, salad, garlic bread or a cheeky bowl of chips!

Tips

Due to cooking 3 different layers this can be a little time consuming. Save time by chopping your veggies earlier and making your sauces. Both sauces can easily be frozen if you wanted to batch cook too.

Use whichever veggies you have in the fridge that are good for roasting.

If you want a simpler white sauce melt a knob of vegan butter/spread (or use 1 Tbsp Olive Oil) in a sauce pan, whisk in plain flour to create a ball and top up with plant milk. Keep whisking to break up the ball and create a creamy consistency. Keep adding flour and milk until you make enough sauce for the veggie bake. Add in dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and grated nutmeg.

This sauce is of course not as nutritional but if you are strapped for time it's a nice easy one.

I get loads of my ingredients from Buy Wholefoods Online check them out as they have such a range of products at great prices.

Let me know if you give this recipe a try and tag me on social media in your pics!

Any questions please get in touch.

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