I had a similar lasagne last week at The Magic Garden pub in Battersea – it was delicious  – and as usual when I find something particularly good I want to see if I can make my own. The Magic Garden used asparagus and I did too because I found a packet at a reduced price in the Co-op, but it’s not really in season so just add more broccoli instead.

The whole evening at The Magic Garden was brilliant, it’s a lively, quirky pub with great music, the band The Great Malarkey were playing.  A fantastic atmosphere.

These ingredients are enough for a large lasagne dish – 30cm x 22 cm, giving six good portions and probably some to freeze – I have a few portions in the freezer for an easy dinner another time. I served the lasagne with a watercress salad for even more green goodness.

Ingredients

• 15 x lasagne sheets which don’t need pre-cooking
• 1 leek, washed well and sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• Bag of spinach, washed
• Bag of kale, washed
• Head of broccoli, pulled into florets
• Bunch of asparagus, washed
• 800 mls semi-skimmed milk, warmed
• 50g plain flour
• 50g butter
• 2 x teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 150g grated cheese (mix of cheddar and parmesan)
• 2 x bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200 C.
2. Boil or steam the kale and spinach for about three minutes, drain thoroughly. Cook the asparagus and broccoli in boiling water for three minutes.
3. Make the sauce – melt the butter in a pan and gently cook the leeks. Add the garlic and cook for about five minutes. Gradually add the flour and cook for five minutes. Slowly add the milk, continually stirring until you have a thick sauce. Add the mustard, bay leaves, half the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
4. Build the lasagne – start with a layer of sauce, then a layer of vegetables, a layer of pasta (overlapping the sheets if necessary), more greens, a layer of sauce, pasta etc – there should be enough lasagne sheets for three layers. Finish with a layer of sauce and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
5. Bake for 30 -40 minutes or until brown and bubbling and the lasagne is cooked through.