Moussagne recipe

It's a cross between moussaka and lasagne! Basically, there is no pasta as it is replaced with thin slices of potato. This one was made entirely from veg out of the garden - even down to our own onions, garlic and tomatoes for the tomato sauce! I think the only ingredients I didn't use from the garden were cheese, milk and other bits and pieces for seasoning. It's also fairly healthy as there is not much oil and I always use low fat cheese and semi skimmed milk.

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients

For tomato sauce:
2 onions
1 tbsp of olive oil
4 cloves garlic
A pound or two of fresh tomatoes (or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes)
4 or 5 sundried tomatoes (or can replace with tomato puree)
Dash of balsamic vinegar
Ground pepper
Ground paprika
Mixed herbs (dried or fresh)

For cheese sauce:
1 tbsp margarine (low fat olive spread if possible)
Plain flour
Semi skimmed or skimmed milk
Mustard
Grated low fat cheddar cheese

Veg:
1 aubergine - sliced
2 or 3 courgettes - sliced
3 medium sized potatoes - thinly sliced

Method

For the veg:
Fry veg in a tiny amount of olive oil (literally a drop or two in the pan) until the veg is soft but not quite cooked. Put to one side.

For tomato sauce:
Chop onions and fry in oil until golden brown. Add chopped sundried tomatoes with a small amount of water. Add chopped garlic, pepper, balsamic vinegar and paprika and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Chop fresh tomatoes into quarters and add to onion mixure. Cook over low heat until tomatoes mushy and a thick sauce is formed. Put to one side.

For cheese sauce:
Melt margarine in pan. Take off heat and add enough flour to make a roux (so that all margarine and flour is combined into a thick dough-like consistency). Gradually add milk and mix with a balloon whisk or similar until a thick, glossy sauce is formed. Add mustard to taste and stir in grated cheese until the sauce is smooth. Put to one side.

To assemble:
Layer a third of the potato slices in the bottom of a casserole dish followed by a layer of half the aubergine. Spread half of the tomato sauce over the top of this. Then a layer of courgette (using all of them), followed by a third of potatoes then the rest of the tomato sauce. On top of this goes the rest of the aubergine and then a layer made of the remaining potatoes. Spread over the remainder of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle over some more grated cheese, ground pepper and mixed herbs. Bake in oven for 30 to 45 minutes until the top is crispy and golden brown. Allow to set for 5 minutes once out of the oven before serving.

Enjoy!