Les Petits Chefs make Jamie Oliver’s summer veggies lasagna

Summer veggies lasagne Meals in Minutes Jamie Oliver

This week, I went out on a limb… with vegetables. I know, I know, what was I thinking? 12 little boys and a veggie lasagne with nary a tomato in sight!!  For sure I knew that many of the boys wouldn’t eat beyond a spoonful of this but it’s all about the experience of cooking something which can often translate to a greater willingness to at least try something different.  Not always, but that’s ok. This cooking with kids thing, it’s a journey, not a race!  The great thing about this recipe for kids is that there is plenty to do.  Some outstanding chopping skills were on display this week as the boys tackled asparagus…

… green onions, garlic, mint and thyme…

And some fine cheese grating was happening too!  One of my Petits Chefs is allergic to eggs so he got to frying up some eggplant slices to use instead of the pasta to layer his lasagne…

Some of the boys carefully cut up the pasta sheets – knowing we didn’t have much time, I opted to make individual servings of the lasagne so that it would be cooked in time for the boys to take home so we had to measure our mini baking pans and make sure we had the pasta the right size…

The veggie filling is bright and beautiful:

I don’t have photos of the production line that was the filling of the baking pans as we were very pushed for time and my hands were busy helping little hands work their magic with even(ish) layers of the filling.  For the first time ever in the history of Petits Chefs, we didn’t make enough!  Fortunately one of the boys was very gracious and claimed that he preferred his with just a little of the filling and “lots” of asparagus tips and Parmesan. (His looked pretty yummy, actually!)

It was all I could do to keep their hands off the just-out-of-the-oven tray of deliciousness. And yes, we learned a lesson about evenly coating the pasta sheets. Ahem. It still tasted good, if a little crunchy!

I’m providing the recipe here as we made it. It’s not exactly as Jamie suggests but sometimes in the rush of things in the hour I have with the boys, I take the ingredients and wing it a little. This winging it worked out this week, though I did not drain the cottage cheese and might have done so next time – the sauce was a tad watery…

And the finished product???

Well it’s definitely not your average lasagne. I personally thought it was lovely – bright and fresh and a little bit sophisticated.  My own taste tester Mr Neil was not a fan. Not surprising considering he is the person with the pancetta hanging in the basement….   I am proud that most of my Petits Chefs at least tried this.  Many of them really liked it. Some of them not so much. But that’s ok. All I ask is they try.  I am very proud of them – it’s not every group of boys who would happily chop and cook up such a veggie-laden dish. Good job guys. And who knows –  next week, *I* might even surprise you by showing I am paying attention to your “requests’ 😉

 

 

Look for Meals in Minutes on Amazon (this link should bring you the the Amazon store closest to you geographically) or, for free worldwide shipping, on The Book Depository.

 

 

 

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25 thoughts on “Les Petits Chefs make Jamie Oliver’s summer veggies lasagna”

  1. Alas, Mardi is right…not a huge fan. But I have to temper that and say, it’s not as if I disliked it completely. I would not turn it away…just would not be on my “high list”.

    Indeed, some bacon in there would elevate this immensely! 🙂

    Otherwise, a touch more cream and cheese I think would add to the “goo” factor and hold all the yummy veggies together.

    Paired this with….well, a glass of water. I was in the work canteen, after all. Otherwise at home a nice grassy New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc would be my pick.

    Reply
  2. All this done in an hour! You and Les Petits Chefs continue to amaze me. Great idea to use the eggplant in place of the noodles for one student too! I love how bright this dish is and that each of the boys did do a taste test.

    Can’t wait to see the next post from the classroom…your little hint at the end has me curious as to what their requests are.

    Reply
  3. What a beautiful experience! Do you always teach kids how to cook? I see you are a French teacher 🙂 that lasagna looks wonderful, I love the colors!

    Reply
  4. Wow, good job guys (and gals)! 🙂 I’ve made this one a couple of times and you can really play with the ingredients. I managed to make a dairy free one once, using tofutti in place of the cheese. Was still quite yummy!

    Reply
  5. So nice to see the boys stretching their wings and trying new things. And I’m just amazed that you managed to turn out all those mini-lasagnas, given the time and equipment limitations. Bravo, Petits Chefs!
    I’m a sucker for anything that combines asparagus and cream sauce, so I’m bookmarking this post to try the recipe out once the local asparagus are in season. Can’t wait!
    PS – I’m with Mr Neil. Bacon would be a brilliant addition! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Just love it how my weekly meal planning has been made sooooo much easier since Eat Live Travel Write started – another recipe printed and headed for my kitchen. Thanks Mardi :))

    Reply
  7. Pingback: 97 Mouth-Watering Meals to Enjoy with Your Family! - Five in Ohio

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