VEGETABLE GARDEN LASAGNA

Serves : 6

Ingredients

• 1                               Eggplant
• 1 teaspoon              Salt, coarse
• 6 + tablespoons     Olive oil
• 1                                green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into julienne strips
• 1                                red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into julienne strips
• 1                                large onion, slivered
• 12 oz                         fresh cultivated mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup                    flour
• 8 oz                          lasagna noodles
• 3 cups                      tomato sauce
• 1  1/2 cups              Bechamel Sauce
• 1/4 cup                    freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish
• 5 oz                          goat cheese
• 1/2 cup                   fresh basil, slivered
• 8 oz                         mozzarella cheese

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/4 ” slices. Sprinkle them with the coarse salt, and let drain in a colander for one hour. Wipe off the salt and pat dry
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the peppers and onion, and saute over medium low heat for about 10 minutes,  until cooked through but not browned.
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peppers and onion from the skillet. Add another 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the mushrooms for about 5 minutes, until cooked.
4. ** SEE NOTES **  Remove the mushroom from the skillet and add 3 more tablespoons olive oil. Dredge the eggplant with the flour, shaking off the excess and saute the slices on both sides, over a medium heat until lightly browned, adding more olive oil as needed. Transfer the cooked eggplant to paper towels.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the lasagna, and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water and drain again.
7. Spread a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 ” dish. Arrange half the lasagna noodles over the sauce. Cover with the peppers, onion, mushroom and eggplant in layers. Mix the béchamel sauce and parmesan together, and spoon half of it on top of the vegetables. Crumble the goats cheese over the béchamel sauce, and sprinkle on half the basil. Top with more tomato sauce, and then layer the remainer  of lasagna noodles. Spread the remaining béchamel over the lasagna noodles, and sprinkle with the remaining basil. Top with remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.
8. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until brown and bubbly for another 15 minutes.

NOTES : Here is my variation to this recipe. In step #4, Broil the eggplant, eliminating the flour and all that oil. Spray or brush the eggplant with olive oil lightly on both sides. Put the slices on a foil covered cookie sheet and broil on both sides. Be careful, it broils very fast. Also, you could use commercial sauces instead of preparing from scratch. This recipe is labor intense but the finished product is worth it….Also, it serves more than 6.

In Categories : ALL OLD Recipes • Vegetarian

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