Vegetable Lasagne

I've started doing a Meatless Monday every week now, much to my boyfriend's dismay. To hide the fact that there is no meat in his food, I tend to get quite creative but every now and then I create a real winner of a meal and this vegetable lasagne is definitely that. He loved this lasagne and it is so easy and so delicious. This recipe is dedicated to my cousin Colleen who is currently my blogs biggest fan and a dedicated vegetarian.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Vegetable Sauce
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Garlic, chopped
1 tsp. Dried Chili Flakes
1 Tin Ratatouille
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
Salt and Black Pepper
1 tbsp Mixed Italian Herbs
2 cups Frozen Stir fry Vegetables (I used McCain Asian Stir fry)

For the Bechamel Sauce
3 tbsp. Butter
4 tbsp. Cake Flour
3-4 Cups of Milk
4 tbsp. Grated Parmesan / Padano
Half tsp. Nutmeg
Half tsp. Cinnamon
Half tsp. White Pepper
2 tsp. Salt

For the Layering
6-8 Lasagna Sheets (I find the Woolworth's one is the best)
1 Cup Grated Cheddar / Mozzarella Cheese (Or a combination of both)
1 Tomato, Sliced
1 Reel of Feta
2 tbsp. Parsley, Finely Chopped.


Method:

To Make the Vegetable Sauce
1) Heat the olive oil on medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and chili flakes until the onion is soft.
2) Add the ratatouille, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper and Italian herbs and bring to the boil
3) Add the frozen vegetables and heat through.

To Make the Bechamel Sauce
1) Melt the butter on a medium heat.
2) Add the flour and stir till it forms clumps and starts to cook.
3) Slowly add the milk one cup at a time, constantly stirring with a whisk making sure it does not clump.
4) When 3 cups of milk have been added, and there are no lumps, bring to the boil and turn down the heat.
5) Add the Parmesan, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and salt and leave to cook for 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
6) Turn off the stove and allow it to stand. (you may need to add the last cup of milk if it is too thick)

To Layer the Lasagne
1) In a square ovenproof dish put a thin layer of the vegetable sauce to grease the dish.
2) Put down a layer of pasta sheets (you may have to trim them down to size, I find a kitchen scissor works quite nicely).
3) Now add another layer of pasta sauce and then a layer of bechamel, a layer of sheets, a layer of pasta sauce and a layer of bechamel.
4) Top this with the grated cheese.
5) Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
6) Remove the dish from the oven and lay the tomatoes over the top, with the crumbled feta and parsley.
7) Leave it to stand for 30 minutes (this ensures that it doesn't collapse all over the place when you dish it up)