Big Party Vegetarian Lasagne

 It is party time again, yes, P is turning 4 and to celebrate we are having the usual crowd of family and friends. It seems so much nicer to have the opportunity to get everyone together to celebrate and have a good old catch up. But there is always the questions of what to cook. Many guests are coming from far afield so will need something to keep them fueled up for the day. There is always the questions of whether to go for sandwiches and a buffet of to go with a couple of big dishes. I think the big dishes win hands down every time, they tend to be quicker, less fiddly and thoroughly enjoyed as well as being cheaper than supplying a big selection. I scoured the internet this year for BIG recipes to feed a party but mostly found those around 10 portions. With 40-50 guests this just would not do so I adapted a number of recipes to make one of my own and here it is. Yes, the bowl was cleared, entirely and in all honesty I probably could have done with two of these! Alongside the Lasagne was a meat Chilli-Con-Carne. Both these dishes are great as they can be easily accessorised with copious amounts of Garlic Bread and large Salads.

Big Party Vegetarian Lasagne

2 Aubergines

2 Courgettes

3 Peppers: Orange, Red, Green

250g Mushrooms

3 Cloves Garlic

2 Tins of chopped Tomatoes

1 Red Onion

1 White Onion

Dried (or Fresh if you have it) Oregano

Dried Italian Herbs

Olive Oil

25g Butter

25g Flour

1 pint Milk (600ml)

Grated Cheese (Mature Chedder or your favourite)

1. Cut the Aubergines, Courgettes, Peppers and Mushrooms into small chunks (about 1cm cubes) and toss into a large baking tray.

2. Drizzle over the Olive Oil, you can be quite liberal as it will be absorbed by the veg, and sprinkle with the dried oregano quite liberally. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius until tender which should take around 35-40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile soften the Onions in some Olive Oil in a heavy based pan. You don't want them to colour. This should take around 5-10minutes, then add the garlic and soften, around 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the Italian herbs then add the tinned tomatoes, 2tsp of sugar and cook through.

 4. Add the roasted vegetables to the tomato sauce and get them coated. If the sauce is too runny cook for a little while to reduce and thicken.

5. Make the white sauce, don't worry, it is not hard. You need to use a heavy based pan or the bottom will burn and don't get distracted stir regularly to stop the bottom sticking and burning. Melt the butter in the pan. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, cook for a couple of minutes to get rid of any floury taste. Take off the heat and pour in the milk slowly, whisking all the time until it is smooth. Bring to the boil slowly whisking all the time and boil for about 10 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Line the base of the baking dish with pasta and cover with about one-third of the vegetable mixture. Cover with a layer of the white sauce and top with another layer of lasagne sheets.

7. Continue until you have a layer of white sauce. Cover this with grated cheese.

At this point you can leave to cool, cover tightly with cling film and freeze until ready as I did. This really help to have some prepared in advance. It will need about 24hours to defrost before cooking at 180 degrees celsius for about and hour or until hot through. Taking out of the oven and wrapping in foil and towels keeps this hot for a while too.