Serves 4

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables
500g eggplant, sliced 10 mm lengthwise
350g pumpkin, sliced 8mm lengthwise
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Cranberry Mushroom Ragu
2 tsp olive oil
250g white button mushrooms, sliced
150g King oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
½ cup frozen US cranberries
⅓ cup vegetable stock
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp honey
Honey Bechamel Sauce
4 tsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups low fat milk
4 Tbsp parmesan cheese
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Garnish:
Grated parmesan
Small bunch of parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp dried cranberries

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the eggplant and pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast until tender and caramalized. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan, add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned. Then add onion and garlic and sauté until softened. And finally add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, frozen cranberries, vegetable stock, oregano, cinnamon, smoked paprika and honey. Simmer until thickened to form a rich cranberry mushroom ragu. For the béchamel, melt the butter, stir in the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk and cook until smooth and thickened. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. To assemble, layer the roasted eggplant and pumpkin with the cranberry mushroom ragu, finishing with the béchamel. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and bake at 190°C for 25–30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Rest for 10 minutes, then garnish with chopped parsley and dried cranberries before serving.