Lasagna is always a family favorite at our house, I usually make the one with beef mince, but my children, who are normally quite fussy about eating their vegetables, didn't seem to notice the difference with this one and enjoyed it just as much.
You can make this dish ahead and time and keep in your fridge so it's great dish to make if you are having a party as well.
Ingredients:
250gms Lasagna sheets ready to assemble
1 large eggplant
2 large zucchini (optional)
1 cup of grated mixed cheese
Method:
Cut your eggplant into slices. Then trim off the skin of the eggplant leaving an inch of skin and cutting off an inch alternatively. Fry in an oiled pan till nicely cooked, sprinkle over some salt and set aside.
If adding zucchini, do the same process and set aside.
For the Tomato sauce:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
2 small boxes of tomato puree 135gms each
1/4 tsp of sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of cumin powder (optional)
1/4 tsp of chili powder (optional)
Method:
Heat oil in a dish. Add your chopped garlic and cook till transluscent. Add your tomato puree along with the sugar and salt. Add the cumin and chili powder if you wish at this point as well. Cook for 2 mins and set aside.
Bechamel sauce:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 stock cube
1 1/2 tbsp of all purpose flour
1 cup of milk
Method:
Heat oil in a dish. Add the onion and cook till transluscent. Add the stock cube and cook till the cube has melted and incorporated. Add the flour and cook it for a minute. Add the milk, reduce the heat, and stir constantly to avoid any lumps. You need to make a thick sauce to spread on top of your lasagna.
To assemble the lasagna:
Take a deep baking dish, and start assembling by spreading some sauce at the bottom. This is a key step to prevent your lasagna from browning at the bottom, and it also makes it easier to remove the lasagna at the time of serving.
Next, layer 3 sheets of lasagna to cover your dish. If your dish is bigger you may need more.
Add the eggplant slices and zucchini if using in a single layer.
Top with tomato sauce.
Keep doing this till you reach a final layer of lasagna. I reserved a few eggplant slices just for the final top layer.
Add the last few eggplant slices and top with bechamel sauce.
Add a generous sprinkling of cheese. I've used mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheese for added flavor.
Bake covered in foil, in a preheated oven @180C for 1 hour.
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