Late last night, so late in fact that it was actually this morning, my sultry songstress friend and I were chatting on FB. Surprise surprise our topic of conversation was food. We spoke about failed cooking escapades. We were in stitches about her failed dhal curry that was super crunchy and about my very furry cow's tongue that was still covered in taste buds. I love a good laugh, even at my own expense.
The main chat then focused on lasagna, the vegetarian kind and we spoke about it for a bit and then I had to go to bed. One may ask "what is there to speak about lasagna?" ..... deconstruct one and think of each ingredient and you'll find there's a lot to speak about. Of course when I woke up in the morning the first thing on my mind was vegetarian lasagna. As soon as I dropped the kids to daycare I went to the supermarket and got what I needed then came home and went to my vegie patch and got the remaining items fresh from the ground. Any fresher is not possible. This is my take on a vegetarian lasagna.
Marie's Veg Lasagna
For the filling
1 x packet of store bought fresh lasagna sheets (of course you are more than welcome to make your own but I am burden by twins and a job most days so forget it, packet it is for me)
2 x large eggplants (or aubergines or brinjals, whatever you call it, same thing)
2 x red capsicums
quarter head of cauliflower
a small bunch of spinach
zuchinnis
a few cherry tomatoes for garnish
* basically you add whatever takes your fancy
For the tomato sauce
2 x cans peeled whole tomatoes
1 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
a handful of basil
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
For the white cheesy sauce
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cup milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese (I normally use parmesan but didn't have any)
big pinch of salt
about 1/2 a teaspoon nutmeg (maybe slightly more, taste as you go)
1. Roast capsicum by putting in hot oven or under hot grill until skin blisters and blackens. Or you could hold it (with thongs) over an open flame. Then place in sealed plastic bag as the steam helps separate the skin from the flesh. Then peel skin and discard. The flesh that you have now is pure flavour, packs a punch and sweet.
* This is a step that is worth the effort as roasting the capsicum does make a world of difference.
** or buy some already done for you from the shops
2. Slice eggplants and grill in oven until slightly cooked. If you prefer you may lightly fry it as well. You just want the cooking process to start and for the eggplant flesh to start to soften, you can cook it longer if you prefer but remember it will be cooked some more when it goes back in the oven later on.
3. Slice cauliflower thinly or make very small florets and blanch slightly. You don't have to if you like cauliflower with a bit of crunch.
4. To make tomato sauce cook off onions and garlic and tomato puree. Add 2 cans of tomatoes, I like the whole peeled ones so I can break the flesh down and make the sauce chunky. Chop basil fine and along with sugar, salt and pepper throw in pot and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes until flavours develop to what you like. You should get a strong tomato sauce with good acidity and a hint of sweetness coming through.
4. For bechamel sauce, in a saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Cook it out for a few minutes or your sauce will taste doughy. Use a whisk and mix in milk a little at a time. Keep whisking until all lumps are gone and you are left with a smooth and thick white sauce. Add cheese, stir until melted and lastly add nutmeg.
5. To assemble simple layer everything together between sheets of lasagna. I started with tomato sauce, lasagna, eggplant, capsicum, zucchini, tomato sauce, white sauce, lasagna, eggplant, capsicum, cauliflower, spinach, tomato sauce, white sauce, lasagna, white sauce and I garnished with a few cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese if preferred but it's pretty cheesy enough I think.
6. Bake in 180 degrees oven for about 45-60 minutes.
Marie's Veg Lasagna
For the filling
1 x packet of store bought fresh lasagna sheets (of course you are more than welcome to make your own but I am burden by twins and a job most days so forget it, packet it is for me)
2 x large eggplants (or aubergines or brinjals, whatever you call it, same thing)
 |
| Fresh from the garden (most of it anyway) |
quarter head of cauliflower
a small bunch of spinach
zuchinnis
a few cherry tomatoes for garnish
* basically you add whatever takes your fancy
For the tomato sauce
2 x cans peeled whole tomatoes
1 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
a handful of basil
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
For the white cheesy sauce
4 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cup milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese (I normally use parmesan but didn't have any)
big pinch of salt
about 1/2 a teaspoon nutmeg (maybe slightly more, taste as you go)
1. Roast capsicum by putting in hot oven or under hot grill until skin blisters and blackens. Or you could hold it (with thongs) over an open flame. Then place in sealed plastic bag as the steam helps separate the skin from the flesh. Then peel skin and discard. The flesh that you have now is pure flavour, packs a punch and sweet.
* This is a step that is worth the effort as roasting the capsicum does make a world of difference.
** or buy some already done for you from the shops
2. Slice eggplants and grill in oven until slightly cooked. If you prefer you may lightly fry it as well. You just want the cooking process to start and for the eggplant flesh to start to soften, you can cook it longer if you prefer but remember it will be cooked some more when it goes back in the oven later on.
3. Slice cauliflower thinly or make very small florets and blanch slightly. You don't have to if you like cauliflower with a bit of crunch.
 |
| rich and flavoursome |
4. For bechamel sauce, in a saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Cook it out for a few minutes or your sauce will taste doughy. Use a whisk and mix in milk a little at a time. Keep whisking until all lumps are gone and you are left with a smooth and thick white sauce. Add cheese, stir until melted and lastly add nutmeg.
6. Bake in 180 degrees oven for about 45-60 minutes.
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