If you’re serving a large crowd and are short on time, here’s an ideal dish to prepare. Lasagna is my go-to dish when we throw a party. I prepared the white sauce in advance and grilled the vegetables ahead of time as well. Since it’s Meatless Monday, I kept the meal vegetarian, adding only grilled eggplant.
The sauce is a combination of the white sauce, ricotta cheese, Asiago cheese, thyme and oregano. To ensure easy clean-up, I first greased a chafing dish with a thin layer of butter and spread flavorful tomato sauce on the bottom. I baked the lasagna in the morning and finished browning the top 30 minutes before the party started. Once my guests arrived, I lit the chafing dish fuel. This method lets you serve a piping-hot, stress-free meal in virtually any setting.
1. Info for Eggplant Lasagna Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Eggplant Lasagna Recipe
- 18 pre-cooked lasagna sheets
- 2 large eggplant
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1½ cups Dubliner cheese, freshly grated
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 7 cups milk, warm
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 4 tablespoons Asiago cheese, freshly grated
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup tomato sauce
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- For the béchamel sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat; you don’t want it to burn. Add the thyme and oregano and let the fresh herbs infuse the butter. Bring the heat back up to medium-high (the butter should be hot and golden) and add the flour. Keep stirring manually with a whisk until the mixture is even. Make sure the flour and butter form a paste and let cook for 3-4 minutes to prevent an unpleasant raw-flour taste. Add 6 cups milk in 3 stages and stir well until fully incorporated. Increase the heat and continue stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add ½ cup of each cheese and the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Let rest while preparing the eggplant.
- Preparing the eggplant: Trim and thinly slice the eggplants lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit, then pat dry with paper towels. Brush a griddle pan with oil. Add the eggplant slices and cook on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let cool..
- Check the consistency of the béchamel sauce. Thin the sauce with 1 cup warm milk. Stir well.
- Mix the ricotta cheese with 4 tablespoons béchamel sauce.
- In a (10 x 15 x 2") chafing dish greased with butter (for easy clean up), spread the tomato sauce first, then layer 6 sheets of the pre-cooked lasagna sheets. Spread a layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle with Dubliner cheese and a few tablespoons chopped parsley. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture, then add 2 to 3 ladles of the béchamel sauce, then add another 6 sheets of lasagna. Repeat the same layers until all the ingredients are used up. Finish with the rest of the béchamel sauce. It should cover the whole tray; top with the Asiago cheese.
- Bake in the oven for about 35-minutes at 375°F (until golden brown).
- When it’s cooked, remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes. Cut into squares.
- Serve immediately.
- Bon appétit!