Although the recipe says to use fresh lasagne, this is quite hard to come by unless you make it yourself. However, you can use the dried lasagne but make sure you soak the sheets before hand – a few at a time – in boiling water to soften them. Another tip is that you do not need to use butter in your white sauce. You can easily buy something called sauce flour which you just add to your milk and keep whisking. No fat is involved in the process and it works well, I use it all the time. Lasagne freezes really well. I serve mine with garlic bread and a side salad but that is obviously up to you.

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp. olive oil
225g. / 8ozs. butternut squash (peeled weight), chopped into small cubes or any other squash
1 red pepper, halved deseeded and diced
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
225g. / 8ozs. mushrooms, wiped & sliced
2 x 400g. cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato puree
2 tsps. sugar
1 tbsp. freshly chopped thyme
salt and pepper
100g. spinach, chopped
I packet of fresh lasagne
For the white sauce:
75g. / 2 ½ ozs. butter
75g. / 2 ½ ozs. plain flour
900m ls. / 1 ½ pts. Milk
1 tsp. English mustard
100g. / 3 ½ ozs. Cheddar cheese, grated
250g. / 9ozs. mozzarella, chopped into small cubes

Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan. Add the squash, pepper, onion and garlic and fry over a moderate heat for 4 – 5 minutes or until the onion is starting to soften. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, thyme and some salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat for 20 – 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the spinach and toss together until just wilted.
Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir over the heat for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the hot milk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the mustard and half the Cheddar.
Spoon one third of the tomato sauce over the base of the ovenproof dish, then arrange a single layer of lasagne over the tomato sauce and scatter over half the mozzarella. Spoon half the remaining tomato sauce on top, followed by a single layer of lasagne. Finish with a layer of lasagne and the remaining mozzarella with the white sauce and Cheddar cheese.
To serve, preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6, then bake for 45 or until golden brown and bubbling around the edges. The lasagne can be made up to the end of step 3 two days ahead . It will freeze for up to 2 months.