Ratatouille Lasagna

One dish that was easy, flavorful and relished by my family…this one! It combined two of our favorite dishes in one. Baked for my son’s birthday, he relished it very much. 

INGREDIENTS

10 sheets of lasagna 

500 gms of spicy pasta sauce 

1 large Aubergine chopped 

1 zucchini chopped 

1 cubed onions 

200 ml white sauce 

1/2 cup tomato purée 

1 tbsp chopped garlic 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1/4 cup basil 

Salt 

1 tsp Italian spices 

1/2 cup grated cheese 

METHOD

1. Mix all the chopped vegetables with salt, pasta sauce, tomato purée, garlic, oil, spices and salt. 

2. Put half the vegetables in a baking dish and line it with 5 of the pasta sheets. 

3. Pour half the white sauce and spread well. Sprinkle half the cheese. Put few basil leaves. 

4. Layer another one on top the same way. Sprinkle cheese and crushed chilies for extra spice. 

5. Put it into a hot oven preheated at 200 deg C. 

6. Bake for 45 mins, cover half way it it starts to brown. The liquid will cook the pasta well. 

7. Sprinkle more cheese and bake for another 10 mins. Push the sides down as they tend to curl up. 

8. Once done, remove from oven and keep it to rest for 15 mins outside. This helps the lasagna to come together and not fall apart. 

9. Cut and serve hot with fresh basil leaves on top. Enjoy with a glass of wine! 

Ratatouille lasagne

 

 My family loves lasagna any day and I find it very interesting to put it together. I keep thinking of ways to make it more interesting and healthy and at the same time do not like to go out venturing looking for ingredients. The recipe should be simple, few steps and with easily available ingredients. This lasagna also was the brainchild of one such a lazy day. Since many things are available here like white sauce, it  makes it is easier to put together and also less work in cleaning. But for people who want to make it from scratch can do so too. So here goes the spicy ratatouille lasagna as I combined the two lovely Italian dishes into one. The product is amazing.
Ingredients
2 chopped aubergines
2 chopped zucchinis
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell peppers
1 scrapped corn ( I used it)
8-10 cherry tomatoes halved
2 tbsp minced garlic
100 gms of tomatoes puree
4-5 tbsp tomato paste( can use more tomatoes cooked to thick paste)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Italian spice
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp garlic powder
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 cup grated cheese
12 Lasagna sheets Soaked in hot water
400 ml white sauce- Heat 2 tbsp butter, add 2 heaped tbsp flour and saute. Add 2 cup milk and keep cooking till coats the back of the spoon. Add salt and pepper.

Method
Heat olive oil and add minced garlic and saute.
Add the onions and saute few mins.
Add the aubergines and zucchini and cook to color a bit and cook a bit.
Add the tomato puree and paste and mix well.
Add 1 tsp each of the herbs, salt and pepper.
Cook till the vegs are half done.
Add cherry tomatoes and keep aside.
Take a baking dish and grease it with butter.
Pour half the vegetable in the dish.
Layer up sheets of pasta on the vegetable.
Pour half the white sauce on it and sprinkle half the cheese.
Pour the rest of the vegetables.
Layer up rest of the sheets and top with white sauce and cheese.
Sprinkle the rest of the oregano, Italian spice , garlic powder and chilli flakes.
Bake at 200 deg till golden brown.
Rest it for 15 mins before cutting and serving.

  

Zucchini and tofu lasagne - A quick recipe

        Lasagne is a wonderful dish where you get all the tastes and nutrition in one dish. This time I tried making a non fuss one pot lasagne dish which just needs baking and no cooking otherwise. It tasted really wonderful and the cherry tomatoes added that special zing when you bite into the juicy almost cooked tomatoes.
Serves : 4-6
Ingredients
lasagne sheets                         14 nos
Zucchini sliced                       500 gms
Sliced onions                         3 nos
Cherry tomatoes halved         500 gms
Grated tofu                            200 gms
Red bell peppers chopped     1 no
Chopped garlic                      2 tbsp
chopped basil                        5-6 leaves
Pasta sauce                            500 gms
White sauce                           500 gms
Olive oil                                2-3 tbsp
Grated cheese                        200 gms
Italian seasoning                    2 tsp
Pepper                                   1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method
Soak the pasta sheets in hot water for 5-10 mins.
In a baking dish, pour some olive oil in the base.
Layer up the zucchini, onions,bell peppers,cherry tomatoes and garlic.
Drizzle some olive oil on this.
Sprinkle salt, some Italian herbs and pepper.
Pour half the tomato sauce ,spread it and sprinkle half the tofu.
Put one layer of pasta sheets.
Layer up half the white sauce and some cheese.
Repeat the layers one more time.Add the basil too.
bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg for 45 mins or till the top is a nice golden brown.
Serve hot.

Vegetable Lasagna

My 1st memories of a good veg lasagna was way back in 1993 when I was just married and went to Germany where my husband was working.During his bachelor days, one of the fastest ways out of the kitchen apart from frozen pizza was a lasagna .I tried the veg version and was hooked.A German friend tried to replicate it when she called us for dinner and failed miserably.I don't give up so easily and so started my lasagna journey.Those days the sheets were not available and I rolled out maida sheets and made it.It tasted great but it took too much time.Now with things so easily available, its very regular on the dinner table.I use the ready made sauces here as its quick but I would be giving the recipes of the sauces to make at home.

Vegetarian Lasagna
Lasagna sheets                    about 15( samosa pattis too do the job)
broccolli                                500gms
red bell peppers                   1 no
tofu                                      200 gms
Zucchini                               1 no
onions                                   2 nos
garlic chopped                      1 tbsp
red chilli flakes                      1 tsp
oregano                              1 tsp
pepper powder                  1/2 tsp
salt to taste
frozen spinach with cream     200 gms
tomato pasta sauce                500 ml
white sauce                            250 ml
grated pizza cheese                200 gms
olive oil                                  2 tbsp
For tomato sauce
peeled and chopped tomatoes from  1kg
chopped onion                          1 no
chopped garlic                           1 tbsp
mixed herbs                                1 tsp
salt to taste
pepper powder                           1/2 tsp
olive oil                                       1 tbsp
sugar                                          1/2 tsp
White sauce
refined flour                              1 tbsp
butter                                        1 tbsp
milk                                          1 cup
bay leaf                                    1 no
salt and pepper to taste
clove                                        2 nos

Method
Soak the sheets in hot salted water.Add some olive oil in it and keep till they are soft.drain and keep aside.
In a pan add flour,cloves, bay leaf and butter.Saute till golden. On slow heat ,slowly add milk and keep whisking to avoid forming lumps.Add about 1/4 cup water, salt and pepper.Keep cooking till the sauce is thick and pouring consistency.Keep to cool
In another pan, heat oil and add chopped garlic, saute well and add onions.Cook till translucent.Add tomatoes and cook well.Add the rest of the ingredients and cook till the sauce is thick.
For preparing the filling,Dice all the vegetables and tofu. Heat oil and add garlic, saute, add chopped onions and saute.Add all the vegetables and cook for 5 mins.Add the seasonings, chilli flakes and oregano.Cover to cook for about 3 mins.The vegetables should be crunchy and bright green.Add the tomato sauce and spinach with cream(can use boiled and crushed spinach and 50 ml cream if frozen not available) and mix well. Now the dish has to be compiled together.
In a baking -12"x10" big dish apply a little butter at the bottom. Layer it with about 5 sheets of pasta sheets.Pour half the vegetables on it and put another layer of pasta sheets.Pour half the white sauce on it and spread well.Sprinkle half the cheese on it.pour the rest of the vegetables,pasta and then the white sauce.Top with the rest of the cheese.Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg.Put the dish in the middle rack and bake for 10 mins.Now reduce the temperature to 180 deg and bake for further 20-25 mins.The top should be golden brown, if the heat is too much reduce the temperature and if the top is browning too quickly, cover with a foil and bake till done.A very juicy, healthy and delicious dish is ready to eat.