Jamie Oliver’s Aubergine (Eggplant) Lasagne

I have already made my love and my bias for Jamie Oliver‘s recipes quite evident. Here’s another one from his website:

I remember whenever I went out to eat Italian, I wanted to try lasagne. The concept of layers and cheese and sauce stuffed inside always amazed me. Sadly, most of the time the restaurant would only serve a non-vegetarian variety. I have realized that being a vegetarian, many a times, I have to compromise on what I eat outside. The choices can be quite limited at times.

That’s the reason I enjoyed cooking this lasagne at home. The best part of this recipe is aubergine and the smoky flavor it brings along is just out of the world. It also a vegetable that is often underestimated. The truth is that they are packed with all sorts of goodness, here are some of the science-based health benefits of aubergines.

You Would Need

For the Sauce

2 aubergines/eggplants (Look for the bulkier variety)

3 cloves of garlic – minced

Few sprigs of parsley (4-5) – chopped

Few basil leaves (9-10) – chopped

4 fresh tomatoes (pick the juicy ones) – chopped

Chilli Flakes

2 tablespoons red vine vinegar

Olive oil

Salt to taste

For Layering

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (use more or less according to what you prefer)

1/2 cup mozerella (use more or less according to what you prefer)

6-8 lasagne sheets

A baking pan

How to Go About It

The Sauce

Start by roasting the aubergine. Many aubergine-related recipes either cook it by boiling or by baking. I make an Indian dish where aubergine is cooked by roasting it either on gas stove or on a flat pan placed on the gas stove. This method gives a little smoky flavor to the aubergine. I roasted both the aubergines one-by-one by placing them on a flat pan on a gas stove. After every 5 minutes or so, I had to turn them and change their position a little so that all sides get cooked evenly.

You would know that the aubergines are cooked when they develop a crust on sides and by pressing them you can feel that they have softened up from inside. Once they are cooked, let them cool. After that, peel out the skin with your hands and you will be left with cooked flesh of the aubergine.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C or 400 degrees F.

If you are using fresh lasagne sheets, just take them out of the fridge so that they come up to room temperature. If you are using dried lasagne sheets, cook them according to instructions on the packet.

Start preparing the sauce meanwhile. Add olive oil to a pan. As it gets a little warm, add in the aubergine (eggplant) flesh, garlic, parsley and chilli flakes. Let them roast up a little for around 10 minutes.

Now add in tomatoes, basil and red vine vinegar and let the sauce simmer for another 10 minutes. Now taste the sauce and add in salt if  needed. Turn the heat off.

 The Layering

The first layer to go in the baking pan will be of the aubergine (eggplant) sauce.

Over this layer, sprinkle Parmesan thoroughly and also sprinkle a little mozzarella. Spread over the cheese layer, a layer of lasagne sheets.

Keep repeating sauce layer, then cheese layer and then lasagne layer for couple of more times.

The last layer to go will be lasagne, topped with a very little sauce, good Parmesan and olive oil.

Bake the pan in the oven for around 30 minutes.