Lasagne might hark back to the 80s and 90s, and you might not have the greatest memories of it, but trust me, this vegetarian aubergine lasagne breaks the mould ... in a good way. It's easy to make, light, healthy, and there's no sauce. It's delicious too, of course!
Heat up the broiler (grill – UK), then lay the eggplant and onion slices on a broiler pan (grill pan), brush them with a little oil and broil/grill for about 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Then turn over, brush over a little more oil and cook for another 5 minutes on the other side, or until nice and soft. Transfer to a plate and put aside*.
Meanwhile, boil the lasagna sheets for a few minutes, then drain and cut in half to make squares. Finally, put into a dish and pour over a bit of oil to stop them sticking.
Make the pesto by whizzing up all the ingredients in a food processor. Slowly add a bit of water until you get a nice smooth paste.
Preheat your oven to 175C/350F. Now assemble your lasagnas. Lay four squares of pasta on a lightly-oiled baking tray and top with a couple of slices of eggplant, a slice of onion, a torn-up piece of mozzarella, a sprinkle of parmesan, a good heaped teaspoon of pesto and a torn-up basil leaf or two.
Lay another pasta square on top (at an angle to the first), then top with more vegetables, cheese, pesto and basil. Bake for ten minutes.
To serve, drizzle over a bit of olive oil and top with a final sprig of basil. Eat with fresh green salad leaves (and garlic bread, if you like).
Notes
Thanks to Waitrose for the inspiration for this recipe! (adapted)
Onions
Don’t worry if your onion slices sort of fall apart a bit after they’re cooked!
Pesto
You'll find that there's plenty of pesto left over when you make these lasagnas, so don't forget to stir it through hot pasta later in the week.If you like, pan-fry some chopped chicken and bacon to add to the pan, too (just remember to add a bit of the pasta cooking water to make the dish nice and loose and silky). Bonus - 2 meals in 1!