Summer vegetable (recipe) love...

 There has been a severe lack of vegetables being eaten in our house recently, so I decided to make something that is very vegetabley and quite delicious too. 

( Even though my boys won't eat this, very picky of them, it makes me feel better getting a good helping of vegies in)

It helps that the zucchinis in the garden are going mental doubling in size almost overnight, and this recipe can use a few of them.

I grew the garlic, zucchinis and pumpkin in the photo, but my tomatoes and capsicums are not quite ready and I haven't grown mushrooms before, so I bought these.

This is my version of a vegetable lasagna, it makes a big tray and feeds a lot!!

I thought I'd share it here, because it is yum, and pretty good for you, and uses up the zucchini glut, and just to be nice!

Ok enough rambling, heres how you make it....

My Vegetable Lasagna

8-10 tomatoes, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, chopped 

2 onions chopped

2 red capsicums

1 butternut pumpkin

3-4 zucchini chopped up or sliced

8 large mushrooms, sliced or chopped up

Lasagna sheets

Cheese Layer:

4 cup milk 

60gr butter

6 tbsp flour

1cup grated tasty/vintage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmasan

Cook the vegies:

Firstly, cut the pumpkin into quarters and take out the seeds.

Cut the capsicums into a few big pieces, discard the seeds.

Put the pumpkin and capsicum pieces onto an oven tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with olive oil.  Put in a moderate oven to roast until  the pumpkin is soft and the capsicum is nicely cooked and the skins come off easily. (about 40 minutes?)

While this is cooking, put garlic and onions in a big saucepan with a bit of oil, over medium heat, and cook until the garlic smells good, then add the tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms.  Let this bubble away for a while, till all the vegies are soft and it is a nice stew-like consistancy. (If you think it needs more tomatoes, I sometimes add a tin of chopped tomatoes as well.)

Make the Cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the flour and stir together, cook for 1 minute.

Take off heat and whisk in milk, one cup at a time, (this helps give you a nice smooth sauce)

Return to heat and stir/whisk continually till sauce thickens and bubbles.

Remove from heat and stir through cheeses.

Make up lasagna! 

Layer sheets of pasta,

 then half vegie stew, 

then more pasta, 

then half cheese sauce,

 then a layer of scooped out roasted pumpkin flesh and roasted capsicum slices,

then pasta again , 

then rest of vegie stew,

then more pasta, 

then lastly, top with rest of cheese sauce and spread over top, grate some more parmasan over it all and you are done!  

Pop it in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes until it looks nice and golden on top!

(You can also add a layer of blanched spinach /silverbeet /spinachbeet or basil leaves  if you have room and want a green layer when you cut it, and a sweet potato roasted and sliced up, can be used instead of pumpkin)))

I think that is it, lots of veg in one delicious package! It looks a bit of a hassle when you write it down like this, but it is really pretty straight forward when you get into it.

 Sorry about this pretty crappy photo, I am no food stylist!  

See all the nice colourful layers? It really is much yummier than this picture looks.

Ok, got to go now and get into some crochet action,

 I am trying to write a pattern for a cushion cover, so I hope it works out!

Have a great day!