My Root-to-Stalk Lasagne

Since January or so, I have made an effort to use all edible peels, stalks, leafs, greens, and so on, of all vegetables I buy. If not used immediately, I store them in the fridge, in a plastic box with a lid, and use them within the three following days.

In the beginning, this new habit wasn’t quite appreciated by other family members, though:

Once my husband game home from work quite hungry. I told him the kids were going to eat sausages with mash, but for the adults, there would be “THIS”, showing him that plastic box full of what looked like compost. “No WAY I’m going to eat THAT!! This a joke or what?” he cried out. Well, one hour later, he was happily eating this lasagne, claiming it was the best lasagne I had made so far. :)

For 8 generous portions you need:

•  18 lasagne sheets

Tomato sauce:

•  1 big onion


• 2-3 garlic cloves


• olive oil


• 800g canned (cherry) tomatoes


• 2 tsp sugar


• fresh herbs (I used rosemary, marjoram, sage, and basil)


• salt and pepper to taste

White sauce:

• 4 Tbsp butter


• 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour


• 800ml whole milk


• salt and pepper to taste

Sautéd vegetables:

• 4 Tbsp olive oil


• 800g vegetable peels, stalks, stems, leaves, greens (I used mostly kohlrabi, carrot, and fennel) - organic and well washed


• 2 tsp Italian spice mixture - I used this one from Herbaria


• salt and pepper to taste

On top:

• 300g mozzarella, sliced


• 2-3 fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced


• 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced


• 100g grated Parmesan cheese

Start with the tomato sauce. In a large pan, sauté onions with some olive oil. Then add garlic, stir, and add the canned tomatoes, a bit of water, sugar, salt, pepper, and herbs. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes - the longer, the better! Once in a while, check if more water is needed.

Then it’s time to prepare the vegetables. Chop them very small, especially harder stems and peels. Heat oil in a heavy pan and add the vegetables, first the ones that need more time to cook, then those that need less time. Sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add a bit of water, the spice mixture, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender, or about 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the white sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir well and let cook 2-3 minutes, but don’t let the flour gain any colour. Then add warmed milk gradually, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and let cook 1-2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Now, take your lasagne form. Assemble lasagne in layers as follows: tomato sauce, 9 lasagne sheets, white sauce, tomato sauce, sautéd vegetables, 9 lasagne sheets, white sauce, tomato sauce, sautéd vegetables, 9 lasagne sheets, tomato sauce, garlic slices, fresh tomato slices, mozzarella, parmesan.

Bake in a preheated oven until the lasagne is thoroughly cooked, cheese has melted and turned nicely brown. Enjoy with a green salad!