A Vegetarian Leek Lasagne with Kale is a perfect winter vegetable lasagne, hearty, filling, and budget-friendly. A white cheese sauce goes perfectly with these vegetables (think cauliflower cheese) which are sandwiched between lasagne sheets and topped with cheddar cheese to add extra flavour.
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Kale is from the same family of vegetables as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but it's most closely related to cabbage. Recipes with Kale can be hard to find but it takes little cooking and goes very nicely with leeks and cauliflower.
Vegetable lasagnes are a great way to enjoy easy one-pot meat-free meals. If you're looking for more vegetarian lasagne dishes, you might also like my Quorn Lasagne or Vegetarian Lasagne with Mediterranean Veg or Spinach and Ricotta. For another cauliflower pasta recipe, try my Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Bake with Spinach.
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Ingredients
A Leek and Kale Lasagne uses a few easy ingredients
- Leeks - look for ones with a nice large white section.
- Kale -Make sure your kale is washed first before using it.
- Cauliflower -look for a small cauliflower with a white head. You can also chop the stalk into small pieces and add them to the lasagne to avoid food waste.
- Garlic - this adds a nice depth of flavour to this kale and leek lasagne recipe.
For the Cheese Sauce
- Milk
- Butter
- Plain Flour - also known as All Purpose Flour. This is used to thicken the sauce.
- Cheddar Cheese - I use mature cheddar cheese as I like the strong flavour it adds.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Put the cauliflower into a pan of cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the kale and simmer for a further 1 minute. Remove from the heat and drain.
In a separate pan, fry the leeks in the olive oil for around 5 minutes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the leek and garlic to the drained cauliflower and kale.
To Make the Cheese Sauce
To make the cheese sauce, add the butter, flour, milk, hot vegetable stock, and mustard to a pan, and bring to a boil stirring all the time. Once it is bubbling, stir in half the cheese. Taste the sauce to see if you need more cheese as the amount depends very much on how mature the cheese is. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour one-third of the sauce in with the vegetables and stir. This is to stop the bottom layer of vegetables from sticking to the lasagne dish.
Assemble your leek lasagne with kale as follows. A layer of vegetables, a layer of lasagne sheets, and half the remaining cheese sauce. The rest of the vegetables, a layer of lasagne sheets. Pour the remainder of the sauce over the top, spreading it out to the edges. and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Add more cheese if necessary.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. add more cheese if necessary.
Top Tip
Sprinkle some bread crumbs over the top to create a delicious crispy topping. Bread crusts that often go to waste or are slightly stale can easily be made into bread crumbs and used up in this way.
Substitutions
You can mix up this Vegetarian Leek Lasagne recipe by adding in some other vegetables in season along with the cauliflower.
- Vegetables - You could also add in broccoli mushrooms or cabbage. Root vegetables won't work as well as they will need a longer cooking time.
- Cheese - I've used mature cheddar cheese as it has a nice strong flavour. You could use other hard cheeses such as mozarella which is milder if you prefer.
Making it Gluten-Free
If you need to make this Leek Lasagne gluten-free, then look for gluten-free lasagne sheets. Also in the cheese sauce, replace the Plain or All Purpose Flour with Cornflour.
Equipment
You will need :-
- A square or rectangular ovenproof dish. I use a lasagne dish that is 26cm x 18cm (internal measurement) as I can fit 3 lasagna sheets across without having to break them. This is big enough for 4 people. You can of course use dishes that are other sizes. You should try not to have lasagne sheets overlapping as they won't cook as well. If you do need to break them, score them with a sharp knife first. Don't worry if it looks a bit messy, once the sauce is poured over them, they won't be seen.
- Colander to steam the kale
- 1 large pan
- 1 smaller pan for the cheese sauce
- Grater for the cheese
Sustainability
Building in some meat-free days can help to lower your carbon footprint. Eating more plants and less meat is good for our health and our wallet. Leeks, cauliflower, and kale are all in season in autumn and winter and this is when they are at their best. As always, try to buy them from local sources and free from plastic packaging. This dish is also a good opportunity to use up any leftover bread and therefore reduce your food waste. Breadcrumbs sprinkled over the top make a lovely crunchy crust. Don't forget, you can also store breadcrumbs in the freezer. Just pop them in an airtight container and they will freeze well for at least 6 months.
Storage
You can assemble your Leek Lasagne ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours. Once cooked, it will keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. It can also be stored in the freezer for 2 - 3 months.
Reheating Leek Lasagne with Kale
Ideally, you want to defrost your lasagne before reheating. If you're not able to do this, you can defrost it in the microwave on the defrost setting for about 5 minutes. Once defrosted, cover it with foil to stop the top from burning or browning further. Place it on an ovenproof dish and reheat in the oven at 190°C / 375°F/ gas mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes. The lasagne should be piping hot before serving. To check this, place a fork in the middle of the lasagne for a few seconds. If the fork is hot, the lasagne is also hot in the middle. The middle will be the last bit to reheat.
Top tip
Don't overcook the cauliflower. It should still have a little bite to it.
Related
Looking for other recipes that use cauliflower, kale or leeks? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Leek Lasagne with Kale
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Ingredients
- 575 g cauliflower organic, ( 1 head = 575g) cut into bite sized florets
- 180 g kale organic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil organic, fairtrade
- 500 g leeks organic, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 cloves garlic organic, peeled and crushed
- 12 lasagne sheets organic, (uncooked)
White Cheese sauce
- 40 g butter organic
- 40 g plain flour organic
- 300 ml milk organic
- 300 ml vegetable stock organic
- ½ teaspoon English mustard
- 120 g mature cheddar cheese organic
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Put the cauliflower into a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the kale and simmer for a further 1 minute. Remove from the heat and drain.575 g cauliflower, 180 g kale
- In a separate pan, fry the leeks in the olive oil for around 5 minutes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the leek and garlic to the drained cauliflower and kale.1 tablespoon olive oil, 500 g leeks, 1 cloves garlic
To make the White Cheese Sauce
- To make the white sauce, add the butter, flour, milk, hot vegetable stock and mustard to a pan, bring to a boil stirring all the time. Once it is bubbling, stir in half the cheese. Taste the sauce to see if you need more cheese as the amount depends very much on how mature the cheese is. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.40 g butter, 40 g plain flour, 300 ml milk, 300 ml vegetable stock, ½ teaspoon English mustard, 120 g mature cheddar cheese
- Pour one third of the sauce in with the vegetables and stir.
- Assemble the lasagne as follows. Spread half the vegetables in the oven proof dish, cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, and half the remaining cheese sauce. Spread the rest of the vegetables in an even layer, cover with another layer of lasagne sheets Pour the remainder of the sauce over the top, spreading it out to the edges and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. add more cheese if necessary.12 lasagne sheets
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Use a fork to check that the lasagna sheets are soft and serve.
Notes
Ingredient Notes
-
- Leeks - look for ones with a nice large white section
-
- Kale -Make sure your kale is washed first before using it
-
- Cauliflower -look for a small cauliflower with a white head. You can also chop the stalk into small pieces and add them to the lasagne to avoid food waste.
-
- Garlic - this adds a nice depth of flavour to this kale and leek lasagne recipe.
-
- Plain Flour - also known as All Purpose Flour. This is used to thicken the sauce.
-
- Cheddar Cheese - I use mature cheddar cheese as I like the strong flavour it adds.
Storage
You can assemble your Leek and Kale Lasagne ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours. Once cooked, it will keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. It can also be stored in the freezer for 2 - 3 months.Reheating
Ideally, defrost your lasagne before reheating. Once defrosted, cover it with foil to stop the top from burning or browning further. Place it on an ovenproof dish and reheat in the oven at 190°C / 375°F/ gas mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes. Single portions can be defrosted in a microwave.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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