As an animal lover I chose to maintain a vegan diet as much as possible so sharing my favourite recipes from my favourite cookbook is simple and easy on 121vegandating.com. Here is one that I use often and it is always a crowd pleaser even if you are not a vegan or vegetarian dater.

2 Onions
‍100g Sun-Dried Tomatoes (plus 2 tbsp oil from the jar)
3 Carrots
3 Celery Sticks
‍1 sprig Fresh Rosemary (plus more for garnish)
2 sprigs Fresh Thyme
4 Garlic Cloves
‍700g Chestnut Mushrooms
‍300ml Red Wine
‍20ml Tomato Puree
‍20ml Red Miso Paste
‍5mlBalsamic Vinegar
‍2.5ml Dried Oregano
‍10ml Soy Sauce
‍Add Tins (chopped plum tomatoes)
800ml Water
‍500g Dried Lasagne Sheets
‍Add Salt And Black Pepper
‍125ml Olive Oil
‍125g Flour
‍1250ml Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk
‍3.83g Nutritional Yeast

Instructions

1. Peel and quarter the onions and blitz them in the food processor until finely chopped. Add the sun-dried tomato oil to the large pan and sauté the onions, stirring, for 5–6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and pulse them in the food processor with the celery until minced. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme and finely chop.

1. Peel and quarter the onions and blitz them in the food processor until finely chopped. Add the sun-dried tomato oil to the large pan and sauté the onions, stirring, for 5–6 minutes
2. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and pulse them in the food processor with the celery until minced. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme and finely chop. Peel and grate the garlic and add it to the pan. Stir for 1 minute. Add the carrot, celery, rosemary and thyme, reduce the heat slightly and sauté, stirring occasionally for 12–15 minutes.
3. Finely slice the sun-dried tomatoes. Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until finely minced. Add to the pan along with the sun-dried tomatoes. Stir, increase the heat slightly and sauté, stirring, for 8–10 minutes.
4. Pour in the wine, increase the heat and stir constantly for 5–6 minutes, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomato purée, miso paste, balsamic, oregano and soy sauce and stir for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and water. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and season.
5. While it is simmering, make the béchamel. Put the second pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the flour and stir for 3–5 minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Add the nutritional yeast and stir until smooth. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer until the béchamel thickens to the consistency of custard. Taste and season. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Now, layer up your lasagne. Spread a quarter of the ragu into the lasagne dish | Spoon over a quarter of the béchamel. Cover with lasagne sheets, breaking them if necessary to make a complete layer with no gaps. Repeat three times, reserving some béchamel to cover the top completely. Garnish with a few rosemary leaves. Cover with foil and put on the lowest shelf of the oven. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving with the salad leaves. The leftovers will taste amazing the next day. Simply bring back to piping hot in the oven or microwave. As a vegan dater it is important that I meet other vegan single daters on 121vegandating.com so that we can make like-minded lifestyle choices together.