Georgina Hayden’s tuna niçoise baguette, and one-pan ’nduja, pepper and three-cheese lasagne

People always want lasagne. Always, always. No matter the season, if I see it, or talk about it, I want it. It’s one of those dishes with immediate appeal, but making it is a mission – ragù, bechamel, fresh pasta. In theright frame of mind, I’ll happily spend hours inthe kitchen, radio on, making a proper, epic version. But often I am not in that frame of mind. It doesn’t matter what your situation is – kids, no kids, going to the office, WFH – or how much you love cooking, everyone’s busy. It’s what I thought about when I was writing my new book, Medesque. How could I take the dishes from some of my favourite Mediterranean cuisines and make them fit into my hectic life?

Basically, I wanted a lasagne simple enough for a weeknight evening. This one is made in one pan, with three cheeses subbing in for a white sauce, while’nduja adds a real depth of flavour, so I don’t need to simmer a ragù for two hours. It’s not a traditional lasagne, but I think it’s delicious in its own right.

I also wanted to rethink some of my favourite dishes, to repurpose flavours, so I present to you not a niçoise salad but a niçoise baguette. To me, it’s a perfect sunny-day sandwich, and I think there’s something quite chic about it. If my friends come round, I want to spend time with them, not in the kitchen, so I’d be thrilled if someone invited me round and served this. Baguette with crisps, a glass of chilled rosé and some good chat? The dream.

I am a big fan of both a salad sandwich and a crisp sandwich. So I love this on so many levels and, hopefully, I won’t offend too many French people by shoving one of their national dishes into a baguette.

In this situation, the tuna has to be canned in olive oil; it needs oil for a silky texture. Get the best quality you can afford and it will elevate this sandwich just that little bit. And be sure to make the pickled onions, as they really cut through the rich fish.

Serves 2
red onion ¼ (or 1 shallot)
red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
fresh baguette 1
extra virgin olive oil
garlic clove 1
tuna in olive oil 1 x 200g can
mayonnaise 75g
anchovies 4
pitted black olives 12
ripe tomatoes 2
little gem lettuce ½
salted crisps a large handful
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your grill to high. Slice the red onion or shallot as finely as you can and place in a bowl with the red wine vinegar and a generous pinch of salt. Toss together and set aside to pickle lightly.

Slice the baguette in half horizontally and toast, cut side up, under the hot grill for a couple of minutes until golden. Then transfer to a board and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut side all over the toasted bread. Now get all the remaining components ready. Drain the tuna and mix into the mayonnaise in a bowl, seasoning to taste. Halve the anchovies lengthways. Roughly chop the black olives. Slice the tomatoes and roughly shred the lettuce.

Now start compiling your sandwich. Start by spreading over the tuna mayo. Lay over the tomato slices, then the shredded lettuce and top with the halved anchovies and chopped olives, then add the pickled onions and a generous scattering of crisps. Sandwich together and get stuck in.

A classic lasagne is a labour of love and, at the weekend, it can take a full day to make and assemble. Sometimes I crave that form of meditation; other times I need speed. This is a one-pan number, but it doesn’t feel like a cheat, just a different version. ’Nduja provides fantastic depth of flavour, plus it takes a fraction of the time to cook.

Serves 4
red peppers 2
olive oil
garlic cloves 2
red onions 2
basil ½ bunch
’nduja 100g
chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g can
mascarpone 250g
whole milk 100ml
parmesan 60g
fresh lasagne sheets 250g
mozzarella 2 × 125g balls, or 250g robiola, if you can get it
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and very finely slice. Set a large, ovenproof frying pan or shallow flameproof casserole over a medium heat and add a generous amount of olive oil. Fry the peppers for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and red onions. Pick the basil leaves, set aside and finely chop the stalks. I like to do this as I go, adding the garlic, red onions and basil stalks to the pan as I slice to speed up the prep. Season well, then when the veg has started to soften and colour a little, spoon in the ’nduja. Fry for 5 minutes, until it has broken down and it releases its fiery red oil into the veg.

Add the can of tomatoes and 500ml water to the pan. Increase the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat a little and vigorously simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together the mascarpone and milk in a mixing bowl. Finely grate in two-thirds of the parmesan, season well and beat together. When the components are ready, remove the tomato sauce pan from the heat.

Preheat your oven to 200C fan/gas mark 6. Spoon half the ’nduja sauce out into a bowl, then tear half the lasagne sheets into the pan with the other half of the sauce. Spoon just under half of the mascarpone sauce over the top, then tear over half the mozzarella and half the basil leaves. Evenly spoon over the reserved ’nduja sauce from the bowl.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients: tear over the remaining lasagne sheets, evenly spoon over the rest of the mascarpone sauce and tear over the remaining mozzarella. Finely grate over the rest of the parmesan, scatter with the basil leaves and drizzle everything with olive oil.

Cover the pan with a lid, or a sheet of foil, and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the lid or foil, increase the oven temperature to 220C fan/gas mark 7 and continue to bake for a further 18–20 minutes until golden and bubbling on top. Leave the lasagne to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Recipes from Medesque by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury Publishing, hardback £26)

Georgina Hayden will be in conversation with our food editor Holly O’Neill at Hay Festival on 21 May. Observer subscribers can get free tickets to this event, visit observer.co.uk/culture-club