There are sooooo many reasons to put lasagne on your meal plan this week. Cooler nights, the start of after-school sports (hungry kids, busy arvos) and, well, it's lasagne! YFC friend, recipe developer and fellow comfort-food lover Alex King is on the same page, sharing her delicious take on this family favourite with us.
Alex's recipe features eggplant, which masquerades as pasta sheets for a veggie-licious difference. As some assembly is required, consider making ahead of time for fuss-free weeknights.
Ready to try this egg-cellent lasagne?
Hearty Eggplant Lasagne with Beef and Mushrooms
For 4 (generous) servings you'll need:
Olive oil for frying
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 eggplantssliced length ways into thin strips (these will form the layers of the
lasagne)
500g beef mince
2 punnets of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
500g tomato passata
10 swiss brown mushrooms, chopped finely
375g smooth ricotta
50g feta cheese
½ cup warm water
1 bunch of kale(leaves only) finely chopped
½ cup tasty cheese, grated
½ cup parmesan cheese
Few sprigs of fresh basil
Saltand pepper to taste
Make it:
- Preheat oven to 200 Celsius, fan forced.
- Place the sliced eggplant over a few baking trays, don’t overlap
- Brush the eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the trays in the oven to cook for 20 minutes, flipping the eggplant halfway through at 10 minutes or until golden on both sides.
- In the meantime, add the garlic, cherry tomatoes and a generous drizzle of olive oil to a pan and cook over a medium heat until the tomatoes have softened
- Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until soft
- Add the beef mince and tomato passata and cook through
- Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Add the chopped kale to a separate saucepan with some olive oil and cook until it wilts down
- Add the cooked kale, ricotta, warm water, parmesan, feta, salt and pepper, to a bowl, mix well
- To assemble the lasagne layer the bottom of the baking dish with some of the beef mixture, followed by a layer of eggplant “sheets” and then the kale and ricotta mix
- Repeat layering until you run out of elements, making your last layer the ricotta mix, and sprinkle with tasty cheese
- Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the lasagne is heated all the way through
- Top with some fresh basil, serve hot any enjoy
