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Eggplant Lasagne

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Firstly, don't be discouraged because the how-to instructions look long! This dish is really simple to make; I have just made sure to detail the layering order as clear as I could 😊 So... I got inspired to create this after speaking to an Italian friend who told me about a beautiful sounding, BUT very, very, very time consuming recipe for a lasagne. I decided to try and experiment to see whether I could cut the time down and create something more accessible, easy and of course diabetic-friendly.

​Eggplant is known for tasting best when it is pre-soaked... Often this involves about 6 hours in the fridge! But, after talking to my local kebab shop owner, he reckons that the "bitterness" in eggplant has been grown out of the plant over the years, making this soaking business a bit more redundant than it once was. With all this new found wisdom 🤓 I have created a pretty quick lasagne that condenses the whole process! The eggplant itself acts as and replaces the pasta sheets which you would usually have in lasagne. Yay, reducing carbs! Feel free to experiment more with the vegetables you use, for example spinach and pumpkin would work nicely too! 

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Ingredients

Serves: 3 - 4

• 2 eggplants
• 2 capsicums
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 200g button mushrooms
• 1 large red onion
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp dried marjoram
• 1 Tbsp dried sweet basil
• 1 Tbsp mustard powder
• 50g butter
• 150g cheese
• 1 Tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to

Let's start with the cheese sauce:

• Heat oven to 200°C fan bake (for later)
• Bring a medium-sized saucepan to a medium heat 
• Melt the butter in the pan, then turn heat to low
• Add the flour and mustard and stir for 30 seconds 
• Starting with a couple of tablespoons, slowly add in the milk and combine. Keep adding a little more and continuing to combine until all combined and the sauce is a nice consistent texture (use a whisk if it is a bit lumpy)
• Grate the cheese into the sauce and simmer so it thickens
• Add more cheese to suit your taste and a couple pinches of salt and pepper and the cheese sauce is done!
• ​Turn off the element so it doesn’t burn and let it sit

Now, let's prep:

• Cut the ends off the eggplant and slice them length ways about the thickness of an iPhone (there are photos to show you how I did mine!) 😅
• Thinly slice the red onion
• Cut the capsicum into large pieces (as shown in the pictures)
• Olive oil the bottom and sides of a high sided baking dish then you are ready to start the layering!

How I layered my lasagne:
TIP BEFORE STARTING... Make sure to read through the entirety of these instructions below as you will need to divide up some of your ingredients so you can have multiple layers. Don't stress though! Just divide your ingredients roughly / approximately :-)

• Arrange a layer of eggplant 🍆 on the bottom so it is covered as best you can
• Add a layer of red onion
• Sprinkle the sweet basil over the onion layer with a couple grinds of pepper and a couple punches salt
• Cover the onions with a layer of tomatoes
• Place the capsicum on top of the tomato evenly to create another layer
• Sprinkle the marjoram over the capsicums 
• Cover with tomato
• Add a layer of eggplant
• Next up, add a layer of mushrooms
• Sprinkle with thyme
• Cover with a layer of cheese sauce, keeping some for later
• Add another layer of eggplant and cover with another layer of cheese sauce; leave enough cheese sauce to use on top when serving!

Here's a more basic & quick breakdown of the layer steps above if this makes it easier for you to divide your ingredients:
1. Eggplant
2. Red onion
3. Sweet basil + salt & pepper
4. Tomatoes
5. Capsicum
6. Majoram
7. Tomatoes
8. Eggplant
9. Mushrooms
10. Thyme
11. Cheese sauce
12. Eggplant
13. Cheese sauce

Of course, don't worry too much if you don't follow it exactly - this order worked well for me though with the various ingredients cooking and holding together well. 

Now it's the super easy part:

• Cover the whole dish with tin foil and bake for 1 hour
• Once finished, leave the dish to stand for 15 minutes so it settles down and so it will be easier to dish up
• Serve with a fresh leafy salad; my balsamic dressing is a great pairing!
• Don't forget to use the leftover cheese sauce to pour over the top once served :-)

Made this recipe yourself?
Post your creation & tag us
using @adiabeticsmenu so we can see!

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