Aubergine Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

150g lasagna sheets

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

Sprinkling of basil

For tomato sauce:

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tsp basil (fresh is best but dried is ok too)

1 courgette

1 carrot

1 tin of tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp tomato purée

For the cheese sauce: 

25g butter

1 heaped tbsp flour

500ml milk

Handful of grated cheese

Black pepper

Sprinkling of nutmeg

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 6.
2. Top & tail the aubergine & slice into 0.5cm slices.
3. Coat in olive oil & lie them on a baking tray.
4. Bake for 25 mins turning in the middle. 
5. Whilst the aubergine is cooking, chop the onion, garlic, carrot & courgette finely.
6. Put a little olive oil into a sauce pan & gently fry the onion, garlic, courgette & basil. 
7. Once soft add the tinned tomatoes, carrots, tomato purée, half a cup of boiled water & the stock cube. Stir well.
8. Leave to simmer until the carrots are soft and the sauce has slightly reduced.
9. In another saucepan on a low heat melt the butter.
10. Once melted remove from heat & stir in the flour to form a paste.
11. Return to heat & little by little add the milk stirring constantly until it is the required consistency. Add the cheese, pepper & nutmeg and extra milk if required to make it thinner. Simmer for a few minutes. 
12. Once the tomato sauce, cheese sauce & aubergine is cooked layer the lasagna sheets followed by the tomato sauce, cheese sauce, more lasagne, aubergine, tomato sauce, cheese sauce... & repeat layers until all the sauces & aubergine is used up. 
13. Top with grated cheese, the cherry tomatoes & a sprinkling of basil.
14. Heat in the oven until the topping is nicely browned for about 30 mins. 

Serve with garlic bread & green salad.