So soccer season is coming to a close, and the hustle and bustle is taking a pleasant pause for a Thursday evening. I call my daughter and ask her to list the veggies I stored in the fridge after my CSA pick-up. Eggplant, carrot, broccoli, onions, peppers… sounds like a perfect excuse to go all out on a veggie lasagna!

A Late Harvest Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients for Veggie filling:

I large eggplant
I medium broccoli head, chopped finely
3 carrots, chopped finely
1 green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 -8 oz packages of sliced portabellas

2 packages of Wegmans fresh lasagna sheets, prepared according to directions
Unsalted Amish butter

Ingredients for cream sauce:
4 Cups of heavy cream
3-½ Cups whole milk
⅔ Cup all-purpose flour
4 Cups of Shredded Pecorino-Romano Cheese
4 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
5 oz fresh spinach
1/2 Cup fresh chopped basil
4 cloves of garlic
Fine sea salt
Coarse black pepper

1-1/2  Cups of Mozzarella for topping

First address the eggplant. Cut thick slices, place on paper towels and salt, and let rest for 30 minutes. (This drains some of the moisture and cuts the bitterness.) Preheat oven to 350’. Butter two 13” x 9” pans.

Prepare the veggie filling. Dice the eggplant in thick slices. Generously swirl some olive oil in a large skillet. Place eggplant, broccoli, carrot, green pepper, onion and portobello in the skillet and saute for about 7-8 minutes. Drain mixture in a colander and set aside.

Use a Dutch oven to heat heavy cream, milk and flour. Bring to a simmer for three minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add both Pecorino-Romano and Mozzarella. Stir until smooth then add garlic, spinach, basil, 2 tsp of fine sea salt and 1 tsp of coarse black pepper.

Place a layer of lasagna sheets in the two pans, a layer of veggie filling and a layer of cream sauce. Repeat until out of ingredients. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.