Vegetable lasagna with celery cream sauce – Vegetable lasagna with celery cream sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g celeriac
• 30 g onion(s)
• 30 g butter
• 30 g flour, sifted
• 300 ml milk
• 150 ml whipped cream
• Salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• e.g. pepper, white
• 8 lasagna sheets
• 1 large can of tomatoes, peeled, approx. 800 g
• 300 g zucchini
• 280 g eggplant(s)
• 2 bell peppers, 1 yellow, 1 orange
• 80 g shallot(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 chili pepper(s), red
• 6 stalks of basil
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• some butter for the mold
• 30 g hard cheese, Italian, grated
• 2 organic limes, peel

Instructions

Working time approx. 55 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

for a casserole dish

For the celery cream sauce, clean, peel, rinse, and finely chop the celery. Cover and steam the celery in a saucepan with a sieve insert for about 15 minutes. Then allow the steam to evaporate and finely dice. Peel and finely dice the onions. Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the diced onions over low to medium heat for about 2 minutes. Then dust with the flour and heat for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the milk and cream, stirring continuously, and simmer uncovered over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the diced celery and puree finely with a food processor. Season the celery cream sauce with salt, lemon juice, and a little white pepper, if desired. For the lasagna, pour the peeled tomatoes into a sieve, collecting the tomato juice, and finely chop the peeled tomatoes. Rinse and trim the zucchini and eggplant. Halve the bell peppers, trim, and rinse them. Cut everything into 1 cm cubes. Peel and finely dice the shallots. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Rinse, trim, and finely dice the chili pepper. Pluck the basil leaves from the stems and place them in cold water. Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan and sauté the prepared shallots and garlic over low to medium heat for about 2 minutes. Then sauté the zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, and chili cubes for about 3 to 4 minutes until al dente. Add the bay leaf (slightly torn around the edges) and season with salt and pepper. Then remove the vegetables, leaving the bay leaf in the pan, and add the prepared peeled tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Simmer for about 5 to 6 minutes until thickened, seasoning with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Then add the removed vegetables and mix in. Remove the basil leaves from the water and fold them in finely chopped, removing the bay leaf as well. Grease a baking dish with a little butter and spread a little celery cream sauce on the bottom of the dish. Then place a layer of lasagna sheets in the dish and spread with a little celery cream sauce. Spread half of the vegetables on top. Place lasagna sheets on top and continue layering until all the ingredients are used up. The top layer should be the celery cream sauce. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (top/bottom heat) or 180°C (fan oven) on the second rack from the bottom for about 20 to 25 minutes. Mix the grated hard cheese with the lime zest, sprinkle over the lasagna and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve with a fresh, mixed leaf salad and fresh ciabatta.