Amazing spinach lasagna

There’s nothing like a big chunk of lasagna to warm you up on a cool night and this twist on the classic is an absolute winner. Packed with fresh spinach for iron and a big hit of greens, this lasagna is lighter than the traditional mince version. It is layered with scoops of creamy ricotta and topped with Parmesan cheese for that perfect golden top. It’s a great vegetarian option to mix things up during the week and is even more delicious heated up again the next day. Any leftovers can be stored in a container and kept in the freezer to pull out on those nights you don’t feel like cooking. Dig in!

Ingredients

• 70g unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• 800ml milk
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 800g spinach
• 200g ricotta cheese
• 1 whole nutmeg, for grating
• 300g fresh lasagne sheets
• 100g Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Melt 50g of butter in a pan and whisk in flour. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then whisk in milk until smooth. Season, add bay leaf and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.

2. Remove the stalks from the spinach, rinse leaves well under water, then wilt with the remaining 20g butter in a covered pan. When wilted, drain and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the liquid.

3. Chop spinach and mix with ricotta, a ladleful of the white sauce and a good grating of nutmeg. Season.

4. In a baking dish, layer the lasagne sheets, white sauce, spinach mixture and a grating of Parmesan. Finish with a layer of pasta topped with sauce and more Parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes, or till golden.