Andrew William’s Spicy Vegetable Lasagna with Peppers

To accompany our July feature on peppers and our interview with fellow food blogger Andrew Williams, here is Andrew's recipe for Spicy Vegetable Lasagna with Peppers.

Andrew says:

"I think it’s safe to say that there’s more of an emphasis on Mexican that there is on Italian in this dish.

Ideally you should use habanero chilies to make this dish. The fruitiness of habanero chilies works really well in this dish. If you can’t get them then don’t worry as any chilies will do."

Ingredients

Serves 4-5

* 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
* 12 oz onion, finely sliced
* 2 medium-sized peppers red or green peppers (about 8 oz), cored and cut into 1-cm square
* 6 oz courgette, cut into 1-cm square
* 6 oz cooked chickpeas
* 4 plump cloves of garlic, crushed with a little salt
* 2 chilies (preferably habaneros) or to taste, finely chopped
* 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
* 2 tbsp tomato puree
* 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
* Half the rind of a lime, finely chopped or grated
* Juice of 1 lime
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1-teaspoon brown sugar
* 5–6 oz mild cheddar cheese, grated
* A generous handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
* 5 or more breaded tortilla wraps
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* Salt to taste

Method

Stage 1

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the sliced onions and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat another frying pan on high heat (no oil). As soon as it becomes really hot, add the diced salad peppers and stir-fry until the skins start to get black(ish) speckles on them. Once they’re done, remove them from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the crushed garlic to the onions and continue stir-frying for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms and courgettes and stir-fry for a further 5 minutes.
5. Add the ground cumin, mix well and cook for a further minute.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes, dried mixed herbs, tomato puree, chilies, sugar, salt, grated lime rind, and lime juice. Mix well and bring to a brisk boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add the dry-roasted salad peppers and chickpeas, stir well and set aside.

Stage 2

1. You’ll need a suitable sized casserole dish or something similar, it has to be quite deep, round and about the same diameter as the breaded tortilla wraps. Don’t worry if the tortilla wraps overlap the dish slightly.
2. Line the base of the casserole dish with one of the breaded tortilla wraps.
3. Place about a fifth of the vegetable mixture on top and sprinkle with a few pinches of the grated cheese and a pinch of the chopped fresh coriander.
4. Cover that with another breaded tortilla and repeat the process until you’re near the top of the dish. It doesn’t matter if you use more than five tortilla wraps, but you need to reserve one for the top.
5. Cover the top tortilla wrap with any remaining sauce, cheese, and chopped coriander. I normally go easy with the cheese between layers, as I like to reserve a nice handful for the top. In some cases you may have some of the mixture left over, just use some of the remaining sauce for the top.
6. Place the casserole dish on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 C/gas mark 6 for about 30–35 minutes, or until the cheese has a nice crust. The tray isn’t necessary, but I sometimes find that a little of the sauce can spill over the sides and make a mess in the oven.
7. Portion it in the same way you would with any other lasagne. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh coriander, and serve with salad, salsa and/or Mexican rice.

Time from Cupboard to Table:

1 hour

(Picture and recipe courtesy of Andrew Williams)