Paprika – Cashew – Lasagna

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• olive oil
• 5 bell peppers, red, aromatic
• Sugar
• 1 shot of balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper, black
• 2 cloves garlic
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 150 g cashew nuts
• some tomato paste
• 40 g butter
• 40 g flour
• 500 ml milk
• Salt and pepper, black
• nutmeg
• 200 g cheese (e.g. Parmesan), grated
• 1 point lasagna sheet(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

vegetarian alternative to classic vegetable lasagne

Chop/grind the cashews using a grater, blender, or magic wand. For the paprika sauce, wash the bell peppers, removing the seeds and skins. Roughly chop all but one of the peppers and fry them in a pan with the garlic cloves in olive oil. Add the sugar and let it caramelize slightly. Before the bottom of the pan gets too dark, deglaze with vegetable stock and cook the bell peppers until soft. Season with salt (if the cashews are salty, use less sparingly), pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and puree finely. Finely dice the remaining bell pepper and add it to the sauce, bringing back to a boil briefly. Add the cashews (reserve 3 tablespoons), adding a little more liquid if needed. The sauce should be thick but still runny. Season again and, if desired, add a little tomato paste to color it a nice red. For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, sprinkle in the flour, and lightly toast while stirring, taking care not to let the flour turn brown. Gradually add the milk while continuing to stir, allowing the sauce to thicken. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, turn off the heat, and stir in half of the cheese. Pour the béchamel sauce into a baking dish, followed by a layer of lasagna sheets, then a layer of paprika sauce, béchamel sauce, lasagna sheets, etc., until all is used up. Finish with the béchamel sauce. Finally, scatter the remaining cheese and the reserved 3 tablespoons of cashew nuts over the top and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 1 hour, until the pastry sheets are tender. Serves 4-6.