Ultimate Veggie Lasagne

We had a houseful that week; 6 of us plus three guests, two of whom had just returned from several months in India. It was Friday night, we were all home from work and school and the mood was celebratory...
...What else to do but make a huge dish of lasagne? This recipe is definitely not vegan, but you could substitute the cheese sauce and grated cheese with soya cheese and a soya/ tahini white sauce.
To make a large deep roasting tin full (makes about 10 generous portions) you need:

• About 750g Cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 litres milk
• 12 fresh tomatoes
• a tube of tomato puree
• a little wholemeal flour
• seasalt
• 1 dsp gour
• paprika
• coarsely ground black pepper
• 2tsps hing
• 2 bay leaves
• dried basil
• about 3 cups dried split mung dal
• 1 tsp Marmite/ yeast extract
• 1 tab dark soy sauce
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 red and yellow bell peppers (or you can use courgette, aubergine etc.)
• 1 1/2 packets spinach lasagne sheets (no pre-cook; and ensure it doesn't contain egg)

1. Chop the tomatoes and cook gently with salt, pepper, gour, hing, bay leaves and paprika until they are the consistency of canned tomatoes. Add the tomato puree and simmer until reduced to a thick sauce.
2. Chop peppers and saute in a little extra-virgin olive oil.
3. Meanwhile, cook the dal in as little water as possible (keep a close eye on it!) until just softened and not mushy. Drain off any excess water and stir in the soy sauce and Marmite. Add the peppers and most of the tomato sauce, reserving a little of the sauce.
4. Bring the milk to boil in a saucepan and then pour into a blender (you may have to do this in 2 batches, according to the capacity of your blender.) While the blender is running, add a little wholemeal flour and the cheese, cubed. Set aside some cheese for the topping.
5. Put the lasagne together in layers: I started with the tomato dal, then pasta sheets, then a thick layer of cheese sauce, more pasta, the rest of the tomato dal, and a final layer of pasta. Water down the reserved tomato sauce slightly and pour over the pasta. Grate the remainder of the cheese over this.
6. Bake at 200C for about 20 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the pasta feels soft when a knife is inserted.

I served the lasagne with roast potatoes and a green salad with black and green olives and ume plum dressing (ume plum seasoning, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil.) You could easily just serve it with the salad; it's filling enough without the potatoes.