Friday night and I’m back home in Sussex cooking dinner for my Mum. Lasagne is something that my Mum always cooks when we have family and friends over so I felt the pressure cooking this dish for her. She’s such a gym bunny and always keen to eat healthy so I knew she would enjoy this version. However, I am aware that as my Mum she has a duty to love everything I make, however disastrous it turns out.

So, I guess I’ll never know if Mum really liked this recipe or not, but I certainly did. It made about 6 servings so I have put some in a tub to take back to Uni this week. The butternut squash also meant the recipe stuck to the seasonal theme, and the Sussex countryside provided the perfect autumnal backdrop this weekend.

Shopping list: 1 large butternut squash, garlic, 500g cherry tomatoes, 2 red peppers, 2 onions, 1 courgette, 500g mushrooms, lasagne sheets, 200ml coconut milk.

I actually bought an extra butternut squash to roast with this recipe and put the leftover in a blender to make soup whilst the lasagne was cooking! It only took an extra few minutes and will keep me going for lunch this week – definitely worth doing.

I also chose to buy fresh lasagne sheets so that I didn’t have to pre-cook them (lazy, I know). If you choose to buy dry lasagne sheets, you may need to place them in a pan of boiling water, with a little olive oil, for 10 minutes (double check on your pasta packet).

Lasagne time:

1) Cut up the squash into chunks. This is more difficult than it sounds and you need a really good knife! Place them on a roasting tray with some olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Roast for about 45 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius.

2) In the meantime, chop up all of your veg. First put the garlic and onion into a large pan with some olive oil, then the peppers and courgette, tomatoes, and finally the mushrooms. Add some salt, pepper, mixed herbs, and a tablespoon of thickener if necessary (flour is fine!)

3) Leave the veg to cook for 10-15 minutes and then put to one side until the butternut squash is really soft and tender.

4) When the squash is ready, add it to a blender with the coconut milk. Our blender at home isn’t very big so I had to do this stage in two batches! Keep the oven on at 200 degrees Celsius so it’s ready for the lasagne.

5) Assemble the lasagne: place a layer of the veg on the bottom of a baking dish, then pour over a layer of butternut squash, a layer of pasta, a second layer of veg, a second layer of pasta, and finally a second layer of squash puree (acting as the cheese sauce)

6) Cover the top of the baking dish in tin foil and bake for about 40 minutes.

I served this with some rocket and sweet potato wedges (with paprika and cinnamon, my Mum’s favourite!) The lasagne took quite a long time to prepare over all, so I would definitely save this for a weekend and enjoy the leftovers during the week.