Vegetable Lasagna

I "made up" this dish yesterday and had my friends taste it first to give me the green light as a blog worthy recipe. It was delicious! Happy dance, happy dance!
I actually thought of creating this recipe when I came across the most gorgeous fragrant basil leaves in Lama in Salmiya while I was buying watermelon, and thought of ingredients I can bring together to make a vegetarian lasagna. I made a tomato sauce, grilled aubergines, bechamel sauce and together they danced like it was 1999!

Recipe:

500 grams mushrooms (white or brown) sliced
3 medium onions sliced
6 cloves of garlic finely minced
Small handful of porcini mushrooms soaked in hot water
Small handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Splash of Tabasco
4 small aubergines sliced lengthwise
1 medium leek
2 medium red bell pepper roasted
2 slices of Gouda cheese
Fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Dash of white truffle oil
Lasagna sheets

Bechamel Sauce:

1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 liter full fat milk (warm)
White Pepper
Sea salt

Method:

Roast the bell peppers in the oven on 200 Celsius for 45 min, let cool and remove skin, set aside. Saute the onions, leeks in olive oil  for 5 minutes adding the mushrooms, garlic, porcini mushrooms with the water it was soaking in, salt pepper, and oregano. Cook for a further 5 min, add tomato paste, Tabasco, roasted peppers, couple leaves of basil, lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes. Take off heat and add Parmesan cheese to your liking and a dash of truffle oil.

Make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter, adding flour and cook on medium hear for 5 minutes making a yellow grainy paste, gradually add the warm milk little by little and keep stirring until you have a smooth sauce consistency. Bring to boil and add white pepper and sea salt. Set aside.

Grill the aubergines.

To assemble, pour a small ladle of bechamel sauce in the bottom of the lasagna dish, and place sheets, spoon the tomato sauce, grilled aubergines, bechamel sauce, few basil leaves, grated Parmesan and start again until finished. Pour remaining bechamel sauce, top with Gouda slices, mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with oregano.

Cook for 30 minutes at 200 Celsius until golden bubbly and jubbly!!