Sweet Plantain Lasagna

Sweet Plantain Lasagna also known as Pastelon is a nice balance of sweet, spicy and lovely umami flavours. This dish is budget-friendly, perfect for meal prep, completely plant-based.

Ingredients

5 - 6 sweet ripe plantains

250g green lentils

285g portebello mushrooms, sliced

110g white onions, sliced

70g anise/fennel bulb, sliced

23g garlic, 5 cloves chopped

5g habenero pepper,

a few fresh oregano sprigs

2 - 3 dried bay leaves

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tbsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tspcoarse sea salt

35g tomato paste

3 tbsps coconut oil plus extra to brush the plantains before baking

700ml vegetable stock

77g green kale, chopped

27g flat leaf parsley, chopped

410g red pepper sauce

Directions:

Baking the Plantains

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

2. Peel the plantains and slice each of them into 3 to 4 long strips depending on their thickness.

3. Lay them on the parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly brush them with coconut oil.

4. Bake them for 15 minutes, flip them and continue baking for another 15 minutes. For even baking and to prevent the strips in the back from burning, rotate the baking sheets after flipping the plantain strips.

5. While the plantains are baking make the filling.

Making the Lentil Mushroom Filling

1. With a large cast iron skillet on high heat, add in the coconut oil, onions, fennel, garlic, oregano sprigs, habanero pepper, cinnamon powder, ground black pepper, ground coriander and coarse sea salt to sauté for 5 minutes.

2. Stir the sauting aromatics every now and again to prevent them from burning or sticking to the pan

3. Then add in the tomato paste and bayleaf and continue sauting for 3 minutes until the scent of the aromatics get smoky

4. Stir in the mushrooms well and allow them to sweat and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Add in the vegetable stock, stir well and bring to a slow bubble. Reduce heat to medium and let the contents bubble for 5 to 6 minutes.

6. Drain the lentils add into the skillet and stir gently to coat the lentils with the cooking liquid. Continue cooking for 8 to 9 minutes until the lentils become split and the bubbling stock has slightly thickened and reduced. Taste to adjust seasonings and turn off heat

7. Once the baked plantains and filling are done cooking and let them cool down to ease the assembling process of the lasagna or store them in glass storage containers and refrigerate when they reach room temperature.

Making the Lasagna

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F and prepare a large casserole dish to make the lasagna.

2. Spread some red pepper sauce in the bottom followed by the lentil mushroom filling, plantain strips, some chopped kale and parsley. After the second layer of plantains, spread on some red pepper sauce so the chopped greens have some to stick to.

3. Continue stacking the elements until the plantain strips are coated with the red pepper sauce then sprinkle on a bit of chopped parsley and kale.

4. Bake for 35 minutes until the contents are bubbling hot and the top layer is well browned

5. After baking, set the lasagna to cool for about 15 minutes then serve with steamed rice, millet, a side salad with fresh sprout or all by itself.