A stack of sliced eggplant, roast capsicum, carrot, green bean and lamb cooked in homemade tomato paste.

Ingredients

(Serves 8 as a FODMAP recipe)

• 400g lamb mince
• 2-3 eggplants, less than 300g
• 2-3 capsicums, less than 300g
• 2-3 carrots, less than 300g
• 2-3 zucchinis, less than 300g
• a few handful of green beans, less than 200g
• 500g ripe tomatoes
• a little olive oil
• rice flour for dusting (approx. 2 tbsp.) & thickening (2 tsp)
• a few sprigs of thyme & rosemary, approx. 5g each
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• salt and pepper

Method

• Eggplants

Slice the eggplants lengthwise, I prefer it quite thin (0.3-0.5cm) so it won’t soak up too much olive oil & have sufficient for 3 layers; discard the end pieces mostly with skins; dust the eggplant slices with rice flour;  In a frying pan, heat up some olive oil; pan fry the eggplant slices until slightly brown; then transfer & cook the eggplant slices under an oven grill until fully cooked

• Capsicums

Cut each capsicum in half; remove and discard seeds and membrane. cut each capsicum into 8 slices lengthwise (the sides should be flat); grill under an oven grill, skin side up, until the skin blisters and blackens; remove from heat to cool; once cool, use a knife to remove the skin; cut the capsicum slices into strips approx 1cm wide

• Lamb in tomato sauce

Score a X at the bottom of each tomato;  cook the tomatoes in boiling water briefly until the skin peels off; cool the tomatoes under running water; once cool, remove the skin, stem & seeds; then roughly chopped the tomatoes; return the tomatoes to a sauce pan; add pinch of salt, pepper, 1tsp of sugar, some thyme leaves & finely chopped rosemary, bring to boil; then simmer at low heat for 15 minutes

Lamb – heat up some cooking oil in a frying pan, saute the lamb mince until just cooked; add the home made tomato sauce, stir well; mix 2 tsp rice flour with 1 tbs water; add the rice flour mixture to the lamb, stir constantly until the sauce thicken (approx 2 minutes)

• Carrots – skin peeled and thinly sliced; steam till soft
• Zucchinis – sliced, steam briefly
• Green beans – remove the ends; steam till soft

Assemble

• Line a an oven proof container with baking paper; first a layer of eggplant slices; then 1/2 of the vegetables; followed by 1/2 of the lamb
•  A second layer of eggplant slices; 1/2 of the vegetables & 1/2 of the lamb  (reserve a few capsicum slices)
• A third layer of eggplant slices; garnish with a few capsicum slices

You can cook this in an oven or in a microwave:

• If serve immediately, using an oven is a good option; pre-heat the oven at 180c; cover the container with foil and cook in the oven for approx 15 minutes, or until warm through
• I prefer to leave the ‘lasagne’ in the fridge overnight for more intensified flavors; so I cling wrap the container; put something heavy on top; leave it in fridge over night; The next day, cut the ‘lasagne’  into large pieces, cook each piece in microwave for 3 minutes on high. It is easier to cut it in pieces while cold.
• Garnish with thyme leaves

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