Vegetarian bush tomato lasagne

This is a good dish for batch cooking – pull a portion from the freezer to reheat for a quick lunch or dinner. I’ve made this many times for my family. My son, who loves meat, didn’t even realise it was vegetarian the first time he ate it. The bush tomato gives it a smoky flavour that will satisfy the carnivores.

Vegetarian bush tomato lasagne. Credit: Murdoch Books / Cath Muscat

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:10 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

I’m always mindful of having a vegetarian option for catering jobs, as there are a lot of vegetarians out there. For coeliacs, use gluten-free pasta sheets and a gluten‑free flour blend. For people who are lactose intolerant or vegan, it’s easy to replace the cream, cheese, milk and pasta with suitable alternatives

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1 cm rounds
• 1 tbsp salt
• 3 capsicums (red, yellow and green), quartered lengthways and deseeded
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthways into 5 mm slices
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced lengthways into 5 mm slices
• 1 tsp dried bush tomato, finely chopped
• 900 ml tomato passata or tomato pasta sauce
• Cooking oil spray, for cooking and greasing
• 4–6 fresh lasagne sheets
• 1½ cups (190 g) coarsely grated mozzarella

White sauce

• 40 g butter
• ⅓ cup (50 g) plain flour
• 2 cups (500 ml) milk
• ¼ cup (25 g) finely grated parmesan cheese

Standing time: 10 minutes.

Instructions

1. Place the eggplant in a colander. Sprinkle with the salt. Stand for 20 minutes. Rinse under cold running water. Drain on paper towel.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven grill to high. (Alternatively, preheat the oven to 180°C.) Place the capsicum on a baking tray and under the grill, skin side up. Once the skin blisters and blackens, transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 5 minutes. Peel away the skin and slice the capsicum into strips.
3. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until thickened. Gradually stir in the milk until it boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan.
4. If using the oven grill, now switch to 180°C.
5. Place the eggplant, zucchini and sweet potato in a single layer on a baking tray. Spray with cooking oil. Roast for 15–20 minutes, or until browned.
6. Combine the bush tomato and passata or pasta sauce in a bowl.
7. Spray a 5 cm-deep, 30 × 20 cm ceramic or metal baking dish with oil. Cover the base with ¾ cup (185 ml) of the tomato mixture, then a layer of lasagne sheets, trimming to fit. Top with a layer of sweet potato, then a little white sauce and mozzarella. Continue layering with the remaining tomato mixture, sheets, roast vegetables, white sauce and mozzarella, finishing with white sauce and mozzarella.
8. Bake, covered with greased foil, for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for a further 10–15 minutes, or until browned. Stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly, then serve.

This is an edited extract from Aunty Beryl’s Cookbook by Beryl Van-Oploo, photography by Cath Muscat (Murdoch Books RRP $49.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.