Vegetable Lasagne

Ingredients

• 70g plain Flour

  Flour

  For pastry making or to thicken sauces, soups, stews and casseroles.

  • Raising agents are added to plain flour to make self-raising flour, used to lighten and give an airy texture to cakes and sponges.
  • Once opened reseal with quick clips or transfer to an airtight container or kilner jar. It will keep for up to 3-4 months
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil

  Olive oil

  Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.

  • Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
  • Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
• 80g Butter

  Butter

  Unsalted is better for cooking.

  Easy spread butter is ideal for sandwiches and toast.

• 250g Cheddar Cheese

  Cheese

  Add to eggs for omelettes, grate onto soups or salads.

  • Parmesan often goes rock hard or becomes horribly sweaty. Ideally, all cheese should be stored in a cool, airy place at a temperature of 46-50F/8-10C. However, most of us put it straight into the fridge. This is fine providing the cheese is kept loosely wrapped in its own airtight container so it isn’t tainted by other foods.
  • Store it in the salad drawer, which is not quite as cold as the rest of the fridge and use a micro plane for grating.
• 1 teaspoon Mustard

  Mustard

  Worth keeping a few different types.

  • French mustard or Dijon is creamy and can be used in dressings, marinades or adding to sauces.
  • English is good for roast beef, steak, gammon or sizzling sausages.
  • Wholegrain is used in chutney’s and pickles
• 8 tablespoons Tomato paste

  Tomato paste

  Concentrate made from paste type tomatoes that have high pectin content.

  When they’re cooked down, they’re put through a strainer to remove skins and seeds, and reduced further until almost all of the moisture has evaporated. Usually a recipe will call for a tablespoon or two, just enough to enrich a beef stew, for instance, or to deepen the flavour of a sauce made with fresh tomatoes.

• Ground Black peppercorns

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• 2 x 400g Canned chopped tomatoes

  Canned chopped tomatoes

  Great for instant pizza sauce, pasta, curry sauces.

  • The tomatoes will keep for up to a week, but don’t store them in the opened tin because the metal will start to rust and spoil the food. Instead, tip the tomatoes into a plastic container, cover with a lid, or clingfilm and store in the fridge.
  • Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 12 months.
• 1.2 litres Milk

  Milk

  organic, full fat, semi-skimmed.

  If milk turns sour (and this when it smells or tastes sour not when it has reached the best before date) it is excellent for making scones

• 600ml water or vegetable Stocks

  Stocks

  Made from your meat and fish bones.

  Frozen in ice cubes for gravies, risotto and cooking rice. Once frozen, remove from the ice trays and pack into freezer bags. Use stock powder or cubes if you do not have any home made available.