I came home on Saturday night to the most delightful little party. Jonas had invited our friends, Tim Y and Karen, over for dinner and he was in the kitchen cooking up a storm.He made a wonderful vegetarian lasagne using zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant. All the vegetables were lovingly chargrilled before being layered into the final product and you could certainly taste the extra care involved. It was simply divine and certainly one of the few items I am prepared to eat as "left overs".
In honour of this delicious feast I am posting his recipe as my Weekend Herb Blogging. The usual recap is being hosted by Gabriella from My Life As A Reluctant Housewife.
Vegetarian LasagneJonas' very own recipe. Serves 6-8, depending on how greedy you are.
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
750ml passata (tomato purée)
4-5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 leaves of basil, chopped
Pinch of dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Béchamel Sauce
1 cup flour
1 litre milk
2 cups grated tasty cheese
Pinch of nutmeg
Pepper to taste
Filling
2 large eggplants
4-5 medium zucchini
200-300g mushrooms, sliced
lasagne sheets
2 cups grated mozzarella
Method
1. Slice eggplants and zucchini lengthways (4-5mm thick).
2. Chargrill eggplants and zucchini on griddle pan (alternatively you can roast, fry or grill them). Put aside.
3. Fry mushrooms with salt, pepper, garlic clove and ½ tablespoon olive oil. Put aside.
4. Preheat over to 220°C.
5. Begin tomato sauce by heating ½ tablespoon olive oil on moderate heat in frying pan. Add garlic, chilli flakes and pepper until garlic is soft.
6. Add tomato paste and stir. Add passata, oregano and salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes until thickened slightly. Add basil. Leave on very low heat.
7. Begin béchamel sauce by dissolving flour in milk over low to medium heat until thickened. Stir continuously. When smooth add nutmeg, pepper and cheese. Stir until cheese has melted.
8. Layer baking dish with a small amount of tomato sauce. Top with mixture of vegetables then lasagna sheet. Cover with tomato sauce. Repeat process adding in béchamel sauce on each lasagna sheet. Continue until you reach the top of the baking dish.
9. Cover last layer with remaining sauce and top with cheese.
10. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until lasagne sheets have cooked.
You lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteI'm normally the one who fusses with catering when my Fiance decides we're to have an impromptu dinner party... it's so nice to be surprised.
I'd eat the leftovers too if there's any left. :)
officially starving. that looks so amazing. Look for the round up on Monday!
ReplyDeleteWow!! That looks fabulous--and I can tell from the recipe that it tastes fab as well!!!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound really wonderful. I love the idea of grilling the veggies before you put them in the lasagna.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to grill the vegetables first!! Many thanks for posting this wonderful sounding lasagne.
ReplyDeleteA question: did Jonas take the vegetables off the grill when they were still al dente before adding them to the lasagne?
-Elizabeth
P.S. Well done on choosing a fellow who cooks and likes to.
yes, the vegies are still a little al dente when they come off the grill. they are soft, but always have a good texture in the end and the grilling gives them extra flavour.
ReplyDeletejonas is a wonderful cook. for the past five years he worked mornings and afternoons so he used to cook dinner every night. now i've had to start doing it too.
it's fun to share this passion and usually we're fighting over who IS cooking rather than who is not!
it's weird because he's even good at cooking meat. i find that strange considering he hasn't eaten it in over 12 years.
I love Jonas vegetarian lasagne! Must. Have. Soon. Hungry!
ReplyDeleteBest veggie lasagne i've made to date.. seeing so many of my friends now seem to no longer eat meat this really hit the spot for them.. and me!
ReplyDeleteI grilled the veggies first and they were perfect!
Thanks Anna!