Butter Bean Lasagne with Cashew Cheese Sauce

Some of my best recipes are concocted near the end of the month when I’m short on ingredients and long on inspiration. Why I’m never as inspired with a packed pantry, I don’t know – maybe it’s too easy to rehash the usual staples.

With slightly demented glee, I therefore treat those lean days before pay day as a test of my fortitude. Can I whip up something delicious and nutritious with 5 ingredients? Will my family eat it? Tune in at 7pm to find out!

Ok, so ‘family’ means Mark as my daughter still only eats fish, chips and bovril toast depending on the day (and none of them are a sure bet). She’s letting my cliffhanger episode down, to be honest. And Mark always eats it, he just displays varying degrees of enthusiasm while doing so, from 1) well, it might be better with *lists 27 other ingredients* to 10) now that is a Survivor meal! (we are huge fans of the reality show Survivor, so this is basically the highest known form of praise)

I made this lasagne last night with only what I had at home as I was determined not to go past the shops (it’s a game, just go with me). Mark gave it an 8 – all the right flavours, only 2 missing ingredients. When you make this, do what we didn’t and add mushrooms and spinach – the transformative factors that would give this lasagne a solid Survivor 10.

Butter Bean Lasagne with Cashew Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cans butter beans, drained
• 2 cans peeled tomatoes, blended
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp lazy garlic (or 2 crushed garlic cloves)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30mins to an hour
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 can coconut milk
• Mock parmesan (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lasagne sheets of choice

Instructions:

1. Fry onion in olive oil until translucent; add garlic and cook for a minute.
2. Add blended tomatoes, herbs and spices and cook on low heat to infuse flavours.
3. Par-cook lasagne sheets in salted boiling water for 2 mins before layering (you don’t have to do this, but my lasagne box said to and I don’t think I’ll ever not do this again – hands up who’s cooked raw sheets for an hour only to have bite of hard, uncooked pasta?!!)
4. Blend cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper in a blender or food processor or with a magic stick.
5. Layer lasagne in a greased dish as follows: pasta sheets, butter beans, tomato sauce, cashew cheese sauce, sprinkle of mock parmesan – repeat twice (finish with just sauce on top of pasta sheets).
6. Bake at 170 degrees for 25 mins and serve.