A wonderful vegetarian meal in itself, this could be served with a salad.
12 sheets of lasagne, precooked in boiling water, then drained sliced tomatoes, to garnish
Milanese Tomato Sauce: 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and diced
4 oz field mushrooms (porcini if possible), chopped
8 basil leaves, torn into peices
1 bay leaf
6 floz full-bodied red wine such as Barolo
2 tbsp tomato puree
14 oz cans chopped tomatoes
8 oz fresh tomatoes, skinned, seeds removed and chopped
Filling:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant, quartered
2 large zucchinis, quartered
1 large red pepper, cored, deseeded and quartered
1 large yellow pepper cored, deseeded and quartered
1 fennel bulb, quartered
2 red onions
1 tbsp dried basil or similar herb
salt and freshly ground black pepper
one whole garlic head, roasted with the vegetables and squeezed into the filling after roasting
Cheese Sauce:
1 1/4 pints milk
3 oz butter
2 oz unbleached plain white flour
1 egg yolk (optional)
2 oz strong Gorgonzola, crumbled
2 oz very sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp sour cream (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tomato sauce:
Use the ingredients above and make it the day before or use your own recipe or buy a ready made tomato and basil sauce.
For the filling: First you will roast the vegetables separately. Brush a large glass dish with olive oil; brush each piece of vegetable with oil and arrange on the baking sheet. Add a dash of white balsamic vinegar. Season with dried herbs, salt and pepper. Roast in a pre-heated oven,400F, until cooked, about 40-60 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool, you may wish to cut the vegetables further.
Make the cheese sauce by warming the milk in a large heavy saucepan. Melt the butter in another saucepan, add the flour and cook for a few minutes without letting it colour. Then gradually add the warmed milk, stirring constantly to keep the mixture smooth. When all the milk has been added let the sauce simmer very gently for about 10 minutes. Stir in the egg yolk, , cheeses and seasoning. Add freshly grated nutmeg and remove from the heat. Add the sour cream and adjust the seasoning, it necessary.
To assemble the lasagne, brush the bottom of a 5 pint ovenproof dish generously with olive oil. Place 4 sheets of lasagne on the bottom of the dish and top with half of the tomato sauce, half of the roasted vegetables and one-third of the cheese sauce. Top this with 4 more sheets of lasagne and repeat the process until you have one-third of the cheese sauce left, with which to top the remaining layer of lasagne. Garnish with the tomato slices.
Place in a preheated oven, 350F and bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden. Allow the lasagne to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
