I will admit upfront, that there are a lot of processes - it's definately not an after work supper - unless you make extra for the freezer ;-) but it is sooooo delicious that it really is worth it. Apparently it's a "Sunday" or special occassion lasagne in Italy. It consists of a 3 meat ragu, the same three meats as teeny-tiny meatballs, aubergines and hardboiled eggs, cheese and bechamel. I know the hb egg sounds a bit left field but believe me, it just adds so much, and the aubergine makes the whole dish so much lighter and fresher than a standard lasagne and the meatballs add texture to what can sometimes be a bit of a toothless dish.
See the link to the original recipe - the only alteration I've made is that I made the meatballs really tiny to ease cutting and when pushed for time I've cheated with a ready made cheese sauce. The one thing you mustn't miss is the flouring of the aubergine - not something I'd ever considered before but it mades a huge difference to their texture. Once you've made your ragu and your meatballs, fried the aubergine and boiled and slice the eggs its simply a case of assembly. Remembering not to go too mad with any of the ingredients - you want to get at least 4 or 5 layers of pasta in.
The layers will be a bit on the bumpy side, with the chunks of aubergine and the meatballs but dont' worry that just adds to the charm. Finish with bechamel and cheese - bake and then sit back and devour with a nice green salad - trust me you WON'T be dissappointed!!!! Let's just call it a belated Christmas gift shall we ;-)
