Freshly layered Broccoli and Stilton Lasagne

So it's Friday and if all you want to do is settle down comfortably on the couch with a glass of red and something delicious and just a little bit indulgent, then this is the dish. Fresh layered lasagne is all the rage at the moment. No more of long prep only to be followed by an hour of cooking time in the oven. This lasagne is so easy it can be made in one pot before you plate it up - another plus for a Friday night, who after all wants to have a pile of dishes to do after a hard week of work and your plan is to lull off to sleep watching a DVD?

Oh, and who said that broccoli has to be boring? This is a flavoursome and morish vegetarian lasagne. If you wrinkle up your nose at (what I think is a particularly diverse, not to mention vitamin and mineral-packed vegetable) this recipe should change your mind. Many people discard broccoli stems, but this is my favourite part- cut it into centimetre-thick disks so that it gets tender when you cook it. But this is not a lesson in there virtues of broccoli; it’s a post about lazy Friday nights. But I will say this: Broccoli olive oil, origanum (oregano, as it’s known in some places) and crushed garlic is a combination made in culinary heaven. Add shavings of parmesan, or a sprinkle of feta, stilton, blue cheese, goats milk cheese and you have a most delicious side-dish which I could gobble just on it’s own! But for a more filling and satisfying meal, then just add pasta as I have here. Adjust accordingly, but here I have given the quantities for four people.

Fresh layered broccoli, stilton and olive vegetarian lasagne

300g Broccoli (divided into florets and the stem thinly cut)
30 pipped Calamata olives
3 good lugs of olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 small red chili
A pinch of salt
Fresh black pepper
Origanum
40g Stilton cheese

6 pieces of lasagne pasta, broken in half

Parmesan cheese for serving



Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Place the pasta into the water. In a steel colander, place the broccoli and place this on top of the pasta and cover with a lid.

After three minutes remove the florets. If the pasta is al dente, then remove that into a bowl and cover with some of the pasta liquid.

In the pot, heat up the oil, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper and origanum. Toss in the broccoli and the olives. Take off the heat and sprinkle over half the cheese. Toss again and add a little of the pasta water so that you get a little bit of a creamy sauce.

Place a layer of pasta (one per person) and cover with broccoli and sauce. Add another layer of pasta and some more broccoli. Distribute the left-over stilton between the portions and the layer. On top put a final layer of pasta and then grate on a sprinkling of Parmesan, a crack of black-pepper and another lug of olive oil. If you want, you can pop this under the grill for a minute or two, but if you have worked quickly, it should still be warm, so serve immediately.

Drink with a wooded Chardonnay (if you want to be fancy) but the stilton will happily accommodate the tannins of your favourite red blend.