How much will you miss outdoor gardening in the next few months?

I ate Mrs Lao’s lasagne and when I came to a particularly delicious bit, I realised that she had actually put the grubs in my portion.

I put those nematodes over the lawn last autumn; that’s what it said on the packet; one was against leatherjackets and the other against ants. Well, we’ll see …

 

Ooooo that looks good, and I don't mean the grubs. Would Mrs Lao be willing to part with her lasagne recipe please?

 

I have spoken to Mrs Lao (this was a good opportunity) who was more than happy (makes a change from less than happy) for me to give you the recipe.

We both look forward to the possibility of seeing a photograph of your version on this thread.

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 large butternut squash
1 level Tsp Ground Coriander
4 cloves Garlic
1 fresh red Chilli
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tins (400 g each) Plum Tomatoes + one tin’s volume of Water
200 g baby Spinach
60 g Parmesan Cheese* (probably more)
200 g lasagne sheets (home-made even better)
400 g full fat cottage cheese (1/2 fat option, if preferred)
100 ml Milk
1 Tbsp Sunflower seeds
1 sprig fresh Rosemary

Method

Preheat oven @ 180 C
Lightly oil two oven trays
Halve squash – deseed – leave skin on – dice into 1,5 cm cubes and lay on oiled trays
Sprinkle with coriander, some sea salt and ground black pepper and ROAST for 50 mins (until soft and gold)
Peal garlic, deseed chilli, finely slice both and place in 1 Tbsp Olive Oil in a pan – fry until golden (3 mins)
Add balsamic Vinegar and 2 tins of Tomatoes + one tin’s volume of Water – Simmer on medium heat (20 mins) – season further to taste

Spread ONE THIRD of the sauce in an oiled oven-proof dish
Cover with a layer of raw spinach, one layer of pre-prepared squash cubes, a layer of grated parmesan, and lasagne sheets
Repeat layers twice, ending with one layer of lasagne
Mix the cottage cheese with the milk, season, and pour over the lasagne layers
Cover with remaining (or more) parmesan and scatter sunflower seeds all over
Rub the rosemary sprig with oil and strip the leaves all over the lasagne

Bake for ≈ 45 mins @ bottom of oven until golden

Serve, adding fresh (i.e. unbaked) parmesan on individual portions, if desired.

*Note: Use the best quality parmesan you can find

 

Thank you for taking the time to type all that out @LawnAndOrder and I thank you and Mrs Lao for the recipe. It sounds wonderful, but my strict diet dictates the need to change or omit some ingredients, and dislike of coriander and parmesan cheese would sadly destroy the recipe.

I hope your time hasn't been wasted and others will adopt it.

 

It was a pleasure (including talking to Mrs Lao about it)! I am sorry to hear about your dietary restrictions and dislike of parmesan, but there are so many other things in life (gardening?).

As you see, @Butterfly6 liked it. I therefore look forward to the possibility of seeing the photograph of her version of the dish.

 

Thank you @LawnAndOrder (and Mrs LaO). That looks a delicious alternative to my usual lasagne (beef) recipe. And would helpfully use up my frozen squash - if I could distinguish it from frozen parsnips...

 

Thank you @LawnAndOrder. Happy gardening!

 

Mrs Lao has just said: "Tell Noisette that, thanks to her (she was quite right about the roots), the Coleus cuttings are doing fantastically well!

And here's the [very promissing] evidence (we have five of them):

 

I join Mrs Lao (and her chickens) in wishing all Gardening Forum members a Happy Easter!
(Origin: Dutch Egg Bunnies)

 

Ohh what pretty eggs! The coleus look good too! Happy Easter to you both
I've just had a thought....why don't you hand over the lawncare to Mrs LAO this year?

 

What a good idea ... meanwhile, I'll go and climb Everest!

 

You are not kidding, it is absolutely beautiful, thank you for the tip!

 

I am never NOT outside doing something, even in the winter, there is always raking the leaves.

 

I just clicked "agree" with @redstar's post, but actually it's not quite true. I do quite a bit of gardening in the winter, mulching, leaf raking etc but now it's 37°C in Dordogne, France and no way am I gardening in this heat!

 

Pppff! 37°C ... We think we suffer hell’s torments here in London at 31°C … Apparently, tomorrow we can expect 34°C!