Vegetable Lasagne from Italy

Lasagne has got to be one of Italy's most famous dishes and needs to be in every person's repertoire of what they can cook for dinner.  It's not a quick meal, but it freezes very well.  So that means it's ideal to make a big batch of filling and cheese sauce, bake them in individual foil containers, and freeze a whole lot for later use.  Traditionally lasagne is cooked with mince in a tomato-based meat sauce.  However, it is one dish that lends itself to vegetables and can easily be converted into a vegetarian staple.

1 packet lasagna sheets
1 onion finely sliced
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 medium zucchini sliced
1 aubergine sliced
1 carrot cut into thin sticks
1 capsicum finely chopped
1 jar tomato-based pasta sauce
3 teaspoons mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup red wine
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 flour
3 cups milk/water mixture
1 cup grated cheese
Note:  You can substitute the suggested vegetables, add in extra, add in mushrooms - the sky's the limit.  Also you won't use the whole packet of lasagne sheets so it means you'll have enough sheets for the next time.
Preheat the oven at 190 degrees Celsius.  Put the olive oil in a pot and add in the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent.  Throw in the zucchini, aubergine, carrot sticks and capsicum.  Next add the wine, chili powder, mixed herbs, salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.  Pour in the pasta sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes.  At the same time in another pot make your cheese sauce.  Melt the butter and add in the flour stirring all the time until the flour is absorbed.  Start pouring in your milk/water mixture a little at a time, stirring all the while so that you don't get lumps.  As it starts to thicken turn the heat onto low.  You want the mixture to be like thick cream.  You don't have to use all the liquid.  Stop pouring it in when you have your desired consistency.  Add in your grated cheese and let it melt into the white sauce.  When  the cheese has melted, turn off the heat and you are now ready to start assembling your lasagne.
In a casserole dish or individual foil containers, put a few spoons of sauce on the bottom of the dish.  This is to prevent the lasagne sheet from sticking to the bottom.  Now lay down your lasagne sheets so that the bottom of the dish is covered.  Spoon the vegetable mixture onto the lasagne sheets and smooth it down so there's an even distribution.  Cover the vegetable mixture with a layer of cheese sauce.  Repeat the layers by covering the cheese sauce with lasagne sheets, then the vegetable mixture and finally the cheese sauce.  If your casserole dish is deep enough you can repeat the layers again, making sure that your last layer is the cheese sauce.  I usually put some slices of cheese on the top.  Pop your lasagne in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden and the pasta is soft.  Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, The Case of Billy B, Defective and C U @ 8.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle formats.