Vegetable Lasagna

#Italian #global #cheese #luxuryindulgence #lasagna

Lasagna is an Italian dish made in one of the possibly oldest kinds of pasta- Lasagna. This dish is made with stacked up sheets of lasagna pasta with vegetables and layers of cheese in between as well as on top. This Italian trademark food is usually made with chicken and beef. But, everything can be replaced with similar options in their vegetarian counterparts. To add on to your ease, this can be baked in a Convection oven or can also be cooked in a non-stick pan on the gas stove. So here you go with the recipe! This recipe serves two.

Ingredients:

7-8 Lasagna Sheets: You can go for pre-cooked sheets or for the uncooked ones. Read on to know how to cook the uncooked sheets.

Vegetables: 1 small bowl diced each of- Sweet corn, Peas, Capsicum, Carrots, French Beans, Onions.

1 Tablespoon of chopped green chilies, garlic, and ginger.

For the Tomato Sauce: 4-5 Boiled Tomatoes mashed to form the tomato puree.

For the White Sauce:

2 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter.

1 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour (Maida).

1 cup Milk.

Condiments and Spices:

1 Tablespoon each of salt, sugar, oregano, chili flakes, black pepper powder, cumin powder, chili powder.

2-3 Tablespoons of Edible Oil.

Cheese: Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese, grated, 1 bowl each.

How to prepare:

1. First to cook the uncooked sheets, boil a pan of water with a pinch of salt and two-three drops of oil. Once the water starts boiling, dip the lasagna sheets. Boil them for 15-20 minutes. They shall turn translucent and soft indicating cooked. Carefully take them out and spread them on a clean surface under a fan to let them cool and dry. If you are lucky to get the oven ready or pre-cooked sheets, then you can skip this step and directly go to the next step.

2. Take a saucepan, pour a teaspoon of oil. Once the oil warms up, add 1 teaspoon each of chopped garlic, green chillies and ginger. Once they start to flutter, add 1 teaspoon of oregano and chilli flakes. As soon as you start getting the aroma of condiments, pour in the entire tomato puree. Let this mixture boil for good 15-20 minutes on medium flame. Constantly keep stirring it. This shall be our tomato sauce. You can add some market bought Schwan Sauce to make it spicier, it's optional.

3. Take another saucepan, pour entire butter to it and let it melt. Once it has melted, add the all-purpose flour and keep constantly mixing vigorously for 5 minutes. You shall get a mixture of constant consistency without any lumps. As this turns to a golden brown, add milk and keep stirring. The milk shall get mixed with the paste and give a consistency of the sauce. Add sugar, black pepper powder to it and stir it for next 5 minutes on low flame. You can add grated cheese, optional. This prepares our white sauce.

4. To prepare the vegetables, take the edible oil in the saucepan, pour in the remaining garlic, green chillies, ginger, oregano, chilli flakes and let them flutter. Put in all the diced vegetables and let them cook in medium flame for good 15-20 minutes. Once the vegetables are half done (not too mushy, not too hard) lower down the flame. Next, we shall start assembling the lasagna.

5. If you are baking in the oven, take a baking pot or if you are doing it on a gas stove, take a non-stick saucepan with a lid. For assembling, the process remains the same in both.

6. First, start with spreading 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce and white sauce in the bottom. Spread the lasagna sheet on top of it. Pour in another layer of sauces and then a layer of cooked vegetables. Repeat with another layer of lasagna sheet, sauces and again vegetables. Keep repeating this till the depth of bowl fills up. (It will ideally take 5-6 layers of sheets). On the topmost layer, pour in the entire cheese and spread it well.

7. The bowl is ready to be baked. For the oven, put it in convection mode baking for 20 minutes while checking in between for the cheese to melt and turn golden brown. If on the stove, keep the saucepan covered with a lid on a medium flame for 20-25 minutes.

8. Once the cheese is melted, your lasagna is ready to be cherished with your loved ones.

Note: Do pour generous amounts of sauces after every layer as the sheets will absorb the sauce to cook. Make sure you don't miss the corners of the sheets.

Happy Lasagna-ing!!!