Mary Berry's melanzane pasta bake
Mary Berry's aubergine lasagne is filled with flavour and oozy, cheesy goodness. Serve with garlic bread or a simple green salad.
Ingredients
- 2 large or 3 small aubergines, sliced into 5mm/¼in rounds
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 6–7 sheets dried lasagne
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the béchamel sauce
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú butter, plus extra for greasing
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú plain flour
- 568ml/1 pint milk, warmed
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú Parmesan (or a similar vegetarian alternative), grated
For the tomato and basil sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 500ml/18fl oz passata
- 1 bunch basil, chopped
- 2 tsp caster sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Grease a 2.5 litre/4½ pint ovenproof dish with butter and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Arrange the aubergine slices in a single layer on the prepared trays. Drizzle over the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20–25 minutes turning the slices over halfway through the cooking time. Set aside.
Lay the pasta sheets in a dish and cover with hot water for 10 minutes to soften.
To make the béchamel sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour and whisk for a few minutes over a high heat to form a roux. Pour the warmed milk into the roux and whisk. Bring to the boil, whisking for a few minutes until smooth. Add the mustard and two-thirds of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Set aside.
To make the tomato sauce, put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, spoon a third of the tomato sauce in the base of the prepared dish, top with a third of the béchamel. Arrange a third of the aubergines on top and 3–3½ sheets of lasagne (you may need to break the lasagne into pieces to make it fit in an even layer). Repeat so you have three layers of sauce and two layers of pasta, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.
Leave to stand for 1 hour before cooking, or overnight.
Bake for 35–45 minutes until golden-brown and bubbling. Stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot with garlic bread.
