Scruffy Veg Lasagne
Jamie Oliver’s £1 Wonders are simple, delicious recipes coming in at £1 per portion. If you’re looking for new family favourites that are affordable and packed with veg, try these!
Family meals that don’t cost the earth!
Looking for some new family favourites that are still simple and affordable?
With more than 30 delicious dishes that won’t blow the budget, Jamie Oliver’s £1 Wonders recipe collection has something for everyone. Featuring Jamie’s tried-and-tested recipes for quick roasts, satisfying stews and tasty pastas, these meals all come in at less than £1 a portion and are sure to become your new family favourites.
Alongside Jamie’s own recipes, guest chefs Miguel Barclay, Gennaro Contaldo, Karan Gokani, Chetna Makan, Big Has and Georgie Hayden have also shared some of their own £1 wonders.
We’ve got our favourite 5 to start you off below, and to find more inspiration, just download the free PDF of the whole collection or visit the website here.
Scruffy Veg Lasagne
Jamie Oliver
Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
1 leek
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried mint
160g mature Cheddar cheese
50g stale bread
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
2 teaspoons English mustard
1 litre semi-skimmed milk
300g frozen peas
500g frozen broccoli
250g dried lasagne sheets
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Put a large shallow casserole pan on a medium-high heat. Wash, trim and slice the leek and place in the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the dried mint. Season with sea salt and black pepper, then cover and fry for 5 minutes, or until soft, stirring regularly and adding a splash of water, if needed.
2. Meanwhile, coarsely grate the Cheddar and finely chop the bread to create rustic breadcrumbs, and put aside for later.
3. Stir the flour into the leeks, followed by the mustard, and slowly stir in the milk to give you a loose white sauce, then add just half of the grated Cheddar and leave to blip away for a few minutes. Season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then stir in the frozen peas and broccoli.
4. Snap in the pasta sheets, mix up really well to coat and separate, then pull some of the sheets to the top to create a top layer – use the back of a spoon to create some dips and wells.
5. Toss the remaining Cheddar with the breadcrumbs, then scatter over. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Serve topped with an extra grating of Cheddar, if you like.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.
Kids in the kitchen
Show kids how to grate using the cheese, and teach essential knife skills by helping older kids chop the bread. Children will love snapping the lasagne sheets, and tossing the cheese with breadcrumbs and scattering over the dish.
Master these skills:
Washing hands, Weighing, Grating, Bridge chopping, Claw chopping
Activities
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.
Sensory
Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.
Kids in the Kitchen
Show kids how to grate using the cheese, and teach essential knife skills by helping older kids chop the bread. Children will love snapping the lasagne sheets, and tossing the cheese with breadcrumbs and scattering over the dish.
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