This slimmed down lasagne is a great alternative for a midweek meal – and is also perfect for those who love to exercise. Whether you’re doing weight-bearing exercise such as running or non-weight-bearing exercise such as swimming, it’s vital to look after your bone health by meeting your calcium needs. In this recipe, the milk, low fat cheese, nuts and leeks are all good sources of calcium, which is needed to build and maintain healthy strong bones.
Serves 4-6
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- 850ml semi-skimmed milk
- 50g olive oil spread
- 50g plain flour
- 1 bay leaf
- 60g grated parmesan
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 leeks, sliced
- 3 red peppers, cubed
- 300g ricotta
- 12 lasagne sheets (ready to cook)
- 50g cashew nuts, roughly chopped
- Half a tsp of nutmeg powder
- 100g grated mozzarella
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4.
2. Place the milk, olive oil spread, flour and bay leaf in a saucepan, season, and whisk together over a medium heat continually until it comes to simmering point and has thickened. Turn the heat down to its lowest possible setting and allow the sauce to cook gently for 5 minutes. Then, stir in most (50g) of the parmesan, remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaf.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the leeks and red peppers and cook until softened (approximately 5 minutes). Transfer into a large bowl and stir in the ricotta and cashew nuts. Season with black pepper and a pinch of salt.
4. Assemble the lasagne by spreading a quarter of the sauce into the bottom of the dish, then one-third of the leek mixture and place sheets of lasagne on top of this. Repeat the whole process, this time adding one-third of the grated mozzarella, then the lasagne sheets. Repeat again, finishing with a layer of pasta, the rest of the sauce and the remaining parmesan and mozzarella.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.