roasted summer vegetable ratatouille lasagna

vegetables :

• wash the vegetables, remove the top ends with stems from the eggplants and zucchinis, slice the eggplants and zucchinis lengthwise into 5 mm thick slices, reserve all the extras such as the external side pieces of the zucchinis and the eggplants with all skin on one side and the tops with stems and set aside as the raw pieces not to be roasted
• lay down 2 layers of paper towels on your counter or a baking sheet, sprinkle with ½ tbsp salt, lay the eggplant slices on top in one layer, sprinkle with another ½ tbsp salt and cover with 4 more layers of paper towels, sprinkle again with ½ tbsp salt and continue with the zucchini slices, sprinkle with ½ tbsp salt and cover with 2 layers of paper towels and press down slightly and let sit for 30-60 minutes until the slices lose much of their water
• slice the tomatoes in half and de-seed, remove the tops from the banana peppers, de-seed and remove veins and slice in half and flatten, reserve the tomato seeds and gelatin or juice and reserve the banana pepper tops, stems, seeds and veins too and add to the raw extras from the zucchini and eggplants
• prepare 2 very large baking sheets covered with baking paper, brush with ½ tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with ½ tbsp salt, lay out the tomato slices on top, brush the sliced sides facing upwards with ½ tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with ½ tbsp salt and set aside and repeat all steps with the sliced banana peppers on another baking sheet
• preheat the oven to 200°C
• roast the tomatoes on the middle rack, for 20-25 minutes and then repeat with the peppers, for approximately 20-25 minutes each and let cool down and set aside 
• remove the eggplant slices and the zucchini slices from the paper towels, prepare your baking sheets brushed with ½ tbsp olive oil and lay the eggplant slices on top and brush with ½ tbsp more olive oil (no salting because they were already salted earlier) and bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes and repeat again with the zucchini slices and set everything aside
• use 1 large baking dish (36 cm x 25 cm x 5 cm) or 2 smaller half-sized baking dishes (25 cm x 18 cm x 5 cm) as guides for how many slices you will need per layer before the final assembling before baking
• to better evaluate and prepare in advance, the exact amount of slices per roasted vegetable needed before the final assembling, lay some baking paper inside your baking dish and lay down as many pieces of each type of roasted vegetable slices that will fit in one layer with no overlapping, then cover with another piece of baking paper and start again with the next vegetable type and repeat until you have 4 separate layers of 4 different roasted vegetables, then lift everything out and set aside until needed
• reserve the extra or remaining roasted vegetables slices that will not fit inside your baking dish(es) for the ratatouille-style tomato sauce you will prepare

ratatouille-style tomato sauce :

• chop the extra slices of roasted vegetables into smaller pieces and set aside (it should be equal to 3 cups but if there is less, you’ll simply add more tomato purée or crushed tomatoes later to make up the difference)
• chop up the onion and cook at medium-high heat with olive oil for 5 minutes until tender, then lower the heat to medium and add the thinly sliced garlic and the bay leaves and cook for another 2 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar to scrape the sticky bits in the pan a little, then add the chopped roasted vegetables, the tomato purée (or crushed tomatoes) and all the spices, herbs (save the stems for the béchamel), salt and pepper and simmer for 10-15 minutes at medium-low heat with a lid, then remove from the heat and let cool down

aromatic vegetable béchamel sauce :

• place all the raw vegetable remains and stems from the used herbs in the milk in a medium pot and simmer for 30 minutes at medium-low heat with a lid to infuse the milk with fresh vegetable flavors, then let cool down, strain well and discard the vegetables and herb solids, taste and if there isn’t enough vegetable flavor then add some vegetable broth powder and whisk
• use a clean pot, melt the butter (or heat up the olive oil), add the flour and whisk until bubbling at medium-high heat, then slowly add the milk and cook and whisk for 5 minutes until it thickens, add the salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside

soft cheeses layer :

• combine the soft cheeses and whisk together, then add the eggs and whisk again and finally the finely grated parmesan, fresh herbs, salt and pepper and combine well and set aside

cheese toppings :

• prepare the cheese toppings by very coarsely shredding or tearing the mozzarella balls into smaller pieces, coarsely grating the parmesan and preparing the whole herb leaves and cracked pink peppercorns and reserve

pasta :

• boil the water with the coarse salt, then turn off the heat, add 3-4 lasagna sheets separately to the very hot water, let them soften for 1-2 minutes, then remove and set aside separately (do not pile them up or they will stick and tear when separated) and continue until all sheets are soaked and softened (you will need to reheat the salted water once or twice before all sheets are softened)

assembly & baking :

• *note the pictures show you 2 baking formats, 1 large baking dish (36 cm x 25 cm x 5 cm) for 8 servings or 2 smaller half-sized baking dishes (25 cm x 18 cm x 5 cm) for 4 servings each, which is practical for freezing 1 smaller uncooked baking dish … the instructions that follow will be for the large baking dish, so simply divide by 2 for 2 smaller baking dishes !
• generously brush your baking dish with olive oil
• brush and spread out ½  cup of the ratatouille-tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish, cover with 1 layer of lasagna sheets with no overlaps, spread out another 1 cup of tomato sauce, lay out all the eggplant slices on top, cover with another layer of lasagna sheets, spread out 1 cup of tomato sauce, cover with 1 layer of zucchini slices on top, cover with 1 layer of lasagna sheets, spoon in and spread out all of the soft cheeses layer, cover with 1 layer of lasagna sheets, spread out 1 cup of tomato sauce on top, cover with 1 layer of the banana pepper slices, cover with 1 layer of lasagna sheets, spread out 1 cup of tomato sauce, cover with the tomato slices, cover with 1 last layer of lasagna sheets, pour and spread out all of the vegetable béchamel sauce on top and smooth out, sprinkle with the torn or shredded mozzarella, sprinkle the coarsely grated parmesan on top and add the fresh herbs and cracked peppercorns, add a few drizzles of olive oil on the fresh herbs so that they don’t burn and set aside at room temperature if baked in the hour or store in the refrigerator for several hours until needed
• preheat the oven to 180°C
• bake for 85-90 minutes until bubbly and golden on top, remove from the oven, let cool down for 15 minutes before slicing and serving
• *note : if baking 1 smaller version, bake for only 70-75 minutes …
• *note : if making 2 smaller versions, you can freeze one baking dish by covering the top with baking paper, then wrapping in aluminum foil and slipping the small unbaked dish into a large freezer bag and freeze for up to 1-2 months …