Sunday, August 3, 2008

Eggplant Lasagna with Cheese Sauce

I took trip down memory lane today and looked through

the cookbooks my Grandma gave me over 10 years ago.

They are the "Look&Cook" books by Anne Willan.

I love this collection of books because each recipe

walks you through a series of steps so that you are sure

to create a wonderful meal if you follow the directions.





These cookbooks still contain some of my favorite dishes

like: Straw Hay Pasta, Hunters Chicken and Lasagna Roll-Ups.


This time through I looked for recipes I haven't made yet

or ones that I haven't made in a really long time.





Here is what I selected this time around:
Eggplant Lasagna with Cheese Sauce

By Ann Willan



Filling:

2 medium eggplants

vegetable oil

1lb tomatoes

1/2 lb mozarella cheese



Cheese Sauce:

1 quart milk

6tbsp butter

1/3 flour

ground nutmeg

salt & pepper

1 cup grated Parmesan

* Lasagna Noodles

* Deep Casserole dish







Directions:

Prepare the Lasagna noodles according

to directions on box.


Preparing the filling.

1. Trim ends from the eggplants and cut them into

1/4 inch slices. Put slices in colander and sprinkle

generously with salt. Let stand 30 minutes to

draw out the bitter juices.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse the eggplant

slices with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Oil the baking sheets. Spread out the eggplant slices

on the sheets and brush them with oil.



4. Bake them in the oven until tender turning once,

Bake for about 20-25 minutes.




Make the Cheese Sauce:

1. Scald the milk in a medium saucepan.

2. Melt the butter in another saucepan

over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook

until foaming, 1-2 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in the hot milk.

Return to the heat and cook, whisking constantly,

until the sauce boils and thickens. Season with

a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper and then

simmer two minutes.

4. Remove sauce from the heat and stir in

three-quarters of the Parmesan cheese,

reserving the rest for sprinkling.




Assembly:

1. Butter the baking dish. Ladle a layer of

cheese sauce into the baking dish to cover

the bottom.

2. Cover with a layer of lasagna rectangles

and arrange half of the eggplant slices on top.

3. Ladle another layer of cheese sauce over

the eggplant slices. Cover with lasagna noodles.

4. Arrange half of the mozzarella on top, then

half of the tomato slices.



5. Cover with another layer of lasagna rectangles.

Continue with another layer of eggplant,

then cheese sauce, then noodles, and then another

layer of mozzarella and tomato slices. Ending

with a generous layer of cheese sauce.

6. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.


Bake the lasagna in the heated 350 F oven


for about 30-45 minutes until bubbling and brown.


This is one great Lasagna and perfect for the

vegetarians out there!!
I am submitting this recipe to Ruth of
wonderful event Presto Pasta Nights
hosted by Michelle of the Greedy Gourmet this week.

4 comments:

Ruth Daniels said...

I love eggplant and this dish looks like a great way to cook some. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

Anonymous said...

Ruth is right. Eggplant makes this dish truly irresistable!

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Viagra Online said...

I've never heard about eggplant lasagna I'm heard about vegetables lasagna and it is completely delicious. I would like to prepare it to know how does it taste.