Firstly, it is really hard to get an appealing photo of lasagna! They don’t really photograph well…

But this is my absolute favourite lasagna! It’s from a Curtis Stone recipe, one he did for Coles (local supermarket chain in Australia). It’s nicely well-balanced, with the cheesy béchamel, tangy tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and sharpness of the parmesan. It takes a rather long time to make (need to make the béchamel sauce and tomato sauce separately, each pretty time consuming, and then grill the zucchini before assembling), so we usually save this for special occasions!

This is a doubled recipe, but makes enough for about 3-4 meals (for two people). It makes the large rectangular Pyrex dish and the square Pyrex dish.

 

Ingredients

For Bechamel Sauce:

• 8 Tbsp Butter
• 2/3 cup Plain Flour
• 6 cups Full Cream Milk (use less than this!!)
• 2 sprig Fresh Thyme
• 3.5oz Parmesan Cheese, grated (divided)
• ~1lb White Cheddar Cheese
• Nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-3 boxes Instant Lasagne Sheets

For the Grilled Vegetable

• 10 medium-large Zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 6.5 mm strips
• 2/3 cup Coles Olive Oil

For the Tomato Sauce

• 5 tbsp Coles Olive Oil
• 2-3 small Brown Shallot, finely chopped
• 7 cloves Garlic, minced
• 5 large sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 3 Bay Leaf
• 2-2.5 cup Dry White Wine
• 5lb Truss Tomatoes, coarsely chopped

 

Directions

Tomato Sauce:

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender.
2. Add the thyme and bay leaf.
3. Add the white wine and reduce until almost dry, then add tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
4. Simmer gently uncovered over a medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until the tomatoes break down to form a chunky sauce (you may need to add a little water during the cooking process if the sauce thickens too much). Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and discard.

 

Grilled Zucchini:

1. While the sauce is simmering, preheat char grill or grill pan on medium high heat.
2. Rub the sliced zucchini on both sides with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, grill the zucchini for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until slightly charred and nice grill marks are achieved. Remove the zucchini from the char grill to a plate and reserve.

Béchamel Sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a heavy based medium saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes or until the flour and butter have formed a uniform mixture.
3. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly with a whisk until the sauce is smooth. Add thyme.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook stirring constantly for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth and thick and the starchy taste of the flour has been cooked out.
5. Add 1/2 of the parmesan and 3/4 of the cheddar to the béchamel and stir until combined well. Season the sauce to taste with a little nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove thyme sprig and discard.

Assemble Lasagna:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. In a baking dish, spoon about ½ of the tomato sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer and top with a layer of pasta, cutting the lasagne sheets as needed to fit.
2. Lay a single layer of the grilled zucchini over the top of the lasagne sheets and spoon 1/3 of the béchamel over the zucchini.
3. Lay another layer of pasta over the béchamel and a single layer of zucchini over followed by the remainder of the tomato sauce. Cover with another layer of pasta followed by the remaining zucchini and top with 1/3 of the béchamel. Lay the final layer of pasta over the béchamel and spread remaining béchamel over the pasta. (Note: baking dishes will vary in size, top layer of lasagne should be pasta topped with béchamel).
4. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and cheddar evenly over the top of the béchamel then cover lasagne with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, the top should be bubbly and golden brown. If the lasagne has not coloured on the top you may increase the oven temp to 200°C for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Before removing the lasagne from the oven check that the middle is hot and that the pasta is cooked through by inserting a small knife into the centre of the lasagne. The knife should be hot to the touch and should go into the lasagne with little to no resistance.
6. Remove the lasagne from the oven and allow to rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to cool slightly before serving. Using a sharp knife, cut the lasagne into portions and place onto serving plates with a large flat spatula and serve.