Roasted Veg Lasagna

It may a tired old classic but when it tastes this good this dish deserves to be eaten more often!

Ingredients
serves 4

750g Courgettes
2 red peppers
2 aubergines
2 small red onions
15g fresh thyme
2 x 400g chopped tomatoes, tinned
2 garlic cloves
5tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
40g sun-dried tomato paste
30g fresh basil
1ltr milk
100g butter
100f flour
1/2 onion
1 bay leaf
1 piece of mace
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
pinch of white pepper
100g vegetarian Italian hard cheese
9-12 sheets of lasagna pasta (depends on their size)

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Place a large roasting dish in to warm.

Cut the courgettes in half and carefully scoop out the softer seeded insides. Then slice and dice them into small pieces. Chop the aubergine into approx. 1 cm³ also dice the red pepper into similar sized squares. Finally peel and finely chop the onions.

Put all the chopped vegetables in a bowl,  drizzle over 3 tbsp of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the fresh thyme leaves. Mix in well.

Pour the veg out into the roasting dish, add another glug of oil and cook in the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time. Turn the heat down if they appear to be cooking too quickly.

In the meantime finely chop (or crush) the garlic cloves and gently fry in 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil on a medium-low heat. Just as the garlic starts to colour add the chopped tomatoes.

Cook for a few minutes before adding the balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomato paste. Stir in well and bring to a steady simmer. Place a lid on the pan and let it cook slowly for about 20 minutes.

Take it off the heat and let it cool down a little before tasting and adjust the seasoning. It does need to be a little on the intense side as it will be diluted by the sweetness of the roasted veg.

Once the vegetables have roasted tip them into a large mixing bowl and add the tomato sauce. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.

Next prepare the bechamel sauce. In a large saucepan pour in the milk and add the bay leaf, piece of mace (or a pinch of ground) and half a small white onion.  Warm up the milk gently without bringing it to a boil to allow the flavours to infuse the milk. Heat for at least 10 minutes then keep warm on a very low heat.

In another large pan over a medium temperature melt the butter, then sieve in the flour. With a  wooden spoon stir in well so all the flour is well mixed into the melted butter.

Remove the onion, bay leaf and piece of mace from the milk then add a splash at a time to the roux.  Continue to add the milk, little by little, to gradually incorporate into the sauce without creating any lumps. Stir quite vigorously throughout.

Once the sauce is runny enough add the remaining milk. Quickly taste to see if it has taken on board some of the bay leaf and mace flavours. If not add them back into the sauce.

On a medium heat cook the sauce until it thickens. Stirring regularly to avoid it sticking to the base of the pan. This could take between 5 - 10 minutes to thicken.

Remove from the heat and season with a pinch of white pepper. (Remember to remove the bay leaf and mace if you've put them back in.)

The final element of the lasagna is to prepare the pasta sheets. If they're fresh and home-made then there's not need to pre-cook. If the pasta is "fresh" packet sheets then just drop them into some boiling water just before you use them. And if you're using dried lasagne sheets then cook them according to the instructions, then keep them to one side with a splash of olive oil between each to avoid them sticking together.

Lightly oil the base of a large deep lasagna dish then cover with the pasta sheets. Cut them to fit neatly but they can overlap slightly. Next layer with half of the veg ragu. Spread it out evenly. 

Place half the basil leaves across the veg. Then pour over about a third of the bechamel.

Repeat the layering of pasta, veg ragu, basil, bechamel and another final layer of pasta. Top with the remaining bechamel sauce then scatter over the grated hard cheese.

Put the dish into the 180C oven to bake for 30-40 minutes until the cheese has browned nicely.