Cheesy Vegetable Lasagna
Our dinner last night was lasagna. We at home are pasta lovers especially Nehal. Satish likes his lasagna with lots of meat (kheema) but also enjoys the vegetarian version.
I was lucky to find zucchini at Spencers. Egg plants, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and garlic made for the filling which merged with a cheesy cream sauce for a rich flavor. The pasta noodles I used are whole wheat. If I use no-boil pasta, I usually boil the pasta for a few mts before preparing the lasagna.
Cheesy Vegetable Lasagna Recipe
Preparation: 40 mts
Serves 3-4 persons
.
12 lasagna noodles
3 tbsps olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 large tomatoes, crushed
3 large brinjals/eggplant, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced
8-9 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsps red chilli pwd (adjust)
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tbsp dried parsley
salt to taste
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (if unavailable, substitute with Amul cheese)
For sauce:
3 tbsps maida/all purpose flour
2 tbsps low fat butter
2 1/2 cups low fat milk
salt to taste
small pinch of nutmeg pwd
2 tbsps grated parmesan cheese (if unavailable use Amul cheese)
1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 4-5 mts (for no-boil pasta there is no need to boil but I like to boil for 5 mts). If using ordinary pasta, cook according to instructions on the box or until al dente, drain. Drop them into cold water (add a tbsp of olive oil) for a few seconds and remove them and place on kitchen towels.
2 Heat 1 1/2 tbsps of olive oil in a vessel, add the onions and crushed garlic and saute till the onions turn transparent. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for 6-7 mts and turn off heat. Keep aside.
3Heat 1 1/2 tbsps of olive oil in another vessel, add brinjal slices and zucchini slices, saute for 8-9 minutes till they are almost cooked. Turn off heat and keep aside.
4 While the onion-tomato base cooks, prepare the white sauce. Heat a pan, on low flame, add the butter and let it melt. Add flour and keep stirring using a hand whisk over a low flame till well blended. Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously. Next add the grated cheese. On medium heat continue to stir until you have a nice smooth consistency sauce. Once in a while, remove the vessel away from the heat for a few seconds and place it back while stirring. Season with salt and nutmeg pwd. Keep aside.
5 Spread some sauce and tomato onion mixture at the bottom of the baking dish, followed by pasta, spread tomato onion mixture, the sauteed vegetables, sprinkle some dried parsley, pour some white sauce all over, then layer with grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Repeat again with a layer of pasta, followed by onion-tomato mixture, a layer of sauteed vegetables, sprinkle dried parsley, pour some white sauce all over, followed by grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese and top with pasta. Pour the remaining prepared white sauce on top. Sprinkle a few tbsps of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
6 Bake in preheated oven at 175 C for 35-40 mts, or until lightly browned on top. Cool for approx 10-12 mts before serving.
I am sending this off to Presto Pasta Nights started by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast who is also hosting this week’s special 100th Presto Pasta Night week.
By sailu • Feb 13th, 2009 • Category: All Recipes for Kids, Pasta Recipes for Kids
I love the lasagna. It looks as tasty as it sounds. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.
Sailu, I like lasagna but the amount of cheese turns me off. Substituting it with scrambled tofu is okay for me but my husband would hate that. what can i do?
You could reduce the amount of cheese.
Well, during my search for a good lasagna recipe, I chanced upon this lasagna recipe which seems to have a good alternate to cheese. Check it out.
Sailu,
First of all CONGRATULATIONS for being listed in the Top Ten food blogs.You really deserve it for all the hard work and efforts you are putting…. I have gone through all your recipes and am really amazed!!!Hats off to u!!! Your blog is inspiring people like me to cook and would like to convey that I’ve got good appreciation from in-laws and friends for several recipes taken from you….Thank you sooo much!!! You are now like a sister or a very close friend to me:)!!!
One doubt Sailu, do you go to gym or do any excercise to balance and maintain health after preparing and tasting all these wonderful yummy dishes??
Then, as I went through your recipes, I would like to request you one thing…the recipe of your regional speciality, that is,the recipe for the world famous Hyderabadi Biriyani…I was surprised to see how u missed that alone!!!I’m sure you have wonderful recipe for that!!!Please post the recipe for Hyderabadi Biriyani veg and non veg versions for your fans….
Thanks
Thank you so much for your wishes, Sumi. Much appreciated. To answer your question if I exercise, first of all I like you doubt.
Yes, I exercise, do yoga and pranayam, brisk walk every day and gym atleast 3-4 times a week. I play tennis occasionally.
I hope to blog some biryani recipes this year.
“:) Yes, I exercise, do yoga and pranayam, brisk walk every day and gym atleast 3-4 times a week. I play tennis occasionally. ”
God! Sailu, looks like you are an all-rounder.
. Your food is good. You write good english. Looks like you read a lot too. You do yoga and gym and play tennis. You maintain blog(s). And may be the list goes on..
. Your blogs reflect your personality and lifestyle and they sound very strong, in a pleasantly good way! The only other blogger whom I wondered so much about is Indira.
You have a really active and interesting lifestyle. Honestly. I wonder how the person behind all this looks like
Thanks for the other link on lasagna!
Sailu garu, A lot of others have said it already..but I got to say it! You truly deserve being in the Top 10! Congratulations!! And I’m confident that you’ll achieve a lot more.
Based on all that I’ve read here (and in your other blogs), I’m truly in awe of you. To second Preeti, it would be good to see the face behind all this once
You do all this plus exercise?? yet another WOW!
Your husband and son are really lucky to have you. I’m sure they know it