Serves: 4
Cooking time:  1 Hour

Cook and rate this recipe and you could WIN great prizes for your kitchen. You say it best " Very easy - a real breeze to make. Uses freely available ingredients. Very versatile - goes a long way."

• 500 g dry or fresh lasagne sheets
• 1 large aubergine
• 50 ml Clover Ghee
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 10 ml crushed garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 125 g button mushrooms, sliced
• 125 g small brown mushrooms, sliced
• 500 ml ready-made Napoletana sauce or 1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 410 g can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 x 410 g can lentils, drained
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 200 g Clover Mature Cheddar, grated

White sauce:

• 500 ml Clover Fresh Full Cream Milk
• 50 ml cake flour
• 50 ml Clover Mooi River Salted Butter
• 5 ml salt
• 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
• 10 ml Clover Fresh Cream 

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease a 2 Litre ovenproof dish.

White sauce:

2. Heat butter in a heavy-based saucepan until melted. Add flour and make a thick paste. Add the milk, salt and pepper and stir continually until mixture is smooth and starts to boil. Remove from heat and add the cream. Mix well.

Vegetable and Pasta Bake:

3. Cut the aubergine into thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Rinse with water, drain and pat dry with paper towel.
4. Heat 30 ml of the ghee in a heavy-based saucepan. Add onion, garlic and bay leaf. Sauté until onion is translucent, add the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes. Add the herbs, tomato sauce or tomatoes, beans and lentils and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaf and season to taste.
6. Heat the remaining ghee in a heavy-based frying pan. Add the aubergine in batches and fry on both sides until tender and golden. Drain on paper towel.
7. Place a layer of aubergine in the prepared dish. Spoon half the bean mix on top and spread in an even layer. Place a layer of pasta on top and follow with a layer of white sauce. Top with the remaining aubergine, spoon the remaining bean mix on top and follow with the remaining pasta and white sauce.
8. Sprinkle the cheddar and feta cheese over and season to taste.
9. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until cheese is golden and pasta is baked through.
10. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Variation:

Meatball and vegetable pasta bake:
Add 500 g uncooked meatballs as a top layer to the bake.