Runtastic Team – Lasagna with Pumpkin

The Runtastic team is not only highly motivated when it comes to sports and fitness. Cooking and kitchen experiments are also part of our leisure activities! That’s why we’ve decided to share some of our favorite dishes, as well as other healthy fitness recipes with you.

Kathrin, our Head of UI Web Design, loves making and eating lasagna in all its variations. She usually pimps the traditional Italian recipe with different vegetables. “It adds valuable nutrients and lots of flavor to your lasagna!” she says.

Kathi’s Lasagna with Pumpkin

Ingredients (makes 4-6 portions)

Preparation
For the Bolognese sauce, cut the onion into small cubes, peel the carrots and grate them coarsely. Peel the pumpkin and cut into approx. 1cm cubes. Then pan fry the ground meat in a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the onion and continue cooking. Dust everything with paprika powder, then stir in the tomato paste. Add carrots, pumpkin and both dried and fresh, chopped tomatoes. Last but not least, top it off with balsamic vinegar and pour the tomato sauce in the pan. Spice up your Bolognese with fresh or frozen herbs, if you’d like, and you’re good to go!

Kathi’s tip: The longer it simmers, the better your Bolognese sauce.

“For this recipe I left it simmering on a low heat for about three hours. This way the tomato sauce boils down and makes for a firmer lasagna.” You can easily prepare the sauce the day before or, when making a larger batch, store single portions in the freezer for future use. The sauce also tastes delicious with spaghetti & other pastas!

Next, prepare the Béchamel sauce in a small saucepan. Melt the butter, add the flour and lightly sautée while constantly stirring. And, be careful not to brown it! Slowly pour in the warm milk or warm water never stopping your stirring to prevent the mixture from graining. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Also feel free to finish off the sauce with fresh herbs or curry to taste!

Drain your mozzarella well (very moist mozzarella leads to a rather liquidy lasagna) and cut into thin slices. Finely grate the parmesan into a bowl and set aside. Grease your baking dish with a little oil for better cleaning afterwards. Then fill it with alternating layers of bolognese, pasta and béchamel.

Kathi’s tip: Layering is up to you! Think about how you want the top layer to look, feel & taste!

“I start using mozzarella and parmesan from the second bolognese layer and keep on layering. My last layer is always bolognese covered with béchamel, as I don’t like it when the cheese gets brown and hard on the surface.” If you’re more of a cheesy crust kind of person, top off your lasagna with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan.

You can always adapt the recipe to your personal preferences or use seasonal vegetables like eggplant, summer squash, etc. instead of pumpkin. Any vegetable will add flavor and nutrients to your lasagna!

Why don’t you try to pimp your favorite recipe with veggies?!
Feel free to leave comments & let us in on your kitchen experiments!

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