Vegetable Lasagne

I love pasta dishes and fancied a non-meat dinner so thought I would make a roasted vegetable lasagne.

It's so tasty and comforting and with our summer being a tad of a let down, is the perfect meal for this season!

For all you meat lovers out there....fear not!! I promise you won't miss the presence of meat in this dish as the flavours are just so good!


Ingredients:

• 2 small aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky strips
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 450g courgettes, sliced
• 225g fresh lasagne sheets
• 50g Parmesan

For the Béchamel sauce:

100g salted butter

100g plain flour 

1 litre milk 

100g grated fresh Parmesan

1/4 freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas mark 7. Mix the aubergines, onions, peppers, garlic, 3 tablespoons of the oil, and a little seasoning in a bowel. Transfer to a large roasting tin and cook for 30 minutes, or until soft.


Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the courgettes over a high heat for 4 minutes, until browned. Tip onto a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.
Remove the roasted veg from the oven. Stir in the courgettes. Lower the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6.


Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the cold milk, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes whisking constantly. Once thickened, stir in half of the Parmesan cheese with the nutmeg, season and set aside to cool slightly.


Cook the lasagne according to the packet instructions, separating the sheets and draining on a clean tea towel.


Spoon a thin layer of the béchamel sauce over the base of a buttered 2-4 litre shallow ovenproof dish. Cover with 4 lasagne sheets, overlapping them slightly. Top with half the vegetables, then one-third of the remaining béchamel sauce and another 4 sheets of lasagne. Repeat once more. Spread over the remaining sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.


Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until golden and bubbling.


Serve with a salad.