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8 forms of capital active hope adaptation agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples art arthritis austrian scythe UK autumn Autumn equinox award back yard Be The Earth beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity biodynamics blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck celebrate Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular city farm clay pot clean air cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate collapse climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey communities community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas conference connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts creativity crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself Donella Meadows drought dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy earths cycles ecoculture ecological emergency economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir emergence endangered birds energy equinox Ethical Consumer ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming farms feedback feminine ferns festivals figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees full moon funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes grassroots green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing growing food guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedgerows hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Idler Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous indigenous knowledge indoor inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land land restoration landscape landscapes leaf mould leverage points life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact lunar Lush Cosmetics Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust Māori Maramataka market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadow meadowsweet medicinal micro microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money moon phases Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mow mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing Open Shell Farm orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns peat-free people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design Permaculture Magazine permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculture week permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants politicians doing nothing pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles prize projects propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries re-green recipe recipes Red List reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture regenerative farming regenerative projects relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans Rupert Read sage Sahel salad salads salve Samhain Savitri Trust schools Scotland scotts pine scythe scything seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs silvopasture skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solstice solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Swayyam Sweet Bay Swift Street swifts syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation Transformative Adaptation trees upcycle urban urban farm urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic verges vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild flowers wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads winter solstice wisdom wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai zai pits zone 00 zoning

Topics

8 forms of capital active hope adaptation agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples art arthritis austrian scythe UK autumn Autumn equinox award back yard Be The Earth beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity biodynamics blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck celebrate Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular city farm clay pot clean air cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate collapse climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey communities community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas conference connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts creativity crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself Donella Meadows drought dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy earths cycles ecoculture ecological emergency economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir emergence endangered birds energy equinox Ethical Consumer ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming farms feedback feminine ferns festivals figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees full moon funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes grassroots green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing growing food guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedgerows hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Idler Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous indigenous knowledge indoor inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land land restoration landscape landscapes leaf mould leverage points life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact lunar Lush Cosmetics Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust Māori Maramataka market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadow meadowsweet medicinal micro microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money moon phases Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mow mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing Open Shell Farm orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns peat-free people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design Permaculture Magazine permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculture week permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants politicians doing nothing pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles prize projects propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries re-green recipe recipes Red List reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture regenerative farming regenerative projects relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans Rupert Read sage Sahel salad salads salve Samhain Savitri Trust schools Scotland scotts pine scythe scything seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs silvopasture skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solstice solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Swayyam Sweet Bay Swift Street swifts syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation Transformative Adaptation trees upcycle urban urban farm urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic verges vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild flowers wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads winter solstice wisdom wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai zai pits zone 00 zoning

Aubergine lasagne – cook from your garden

No dig gardener, Stephanie Hafferty, shares how you can transform your homegrown aubergines into a tasty lasagne.


This hearty lasagne is delicious cold with salad the next day, if there is any left.

600g (21 oz) aubergines 
500g (17.5 oz/3.5 cups) onions, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery, diced
600g (21 oz) courgettes 
1 red pepper, diced
100g (3.5 oz/2 cups) spinach or chard, chopped
Olive oil
800g (28 oz/5 ⅓ cup) tomatoes, chopped
Plus 2 or 3 tomatoes, sliced, to decorate
240g (8.5 oz/1.5 cups) cooked beans
(400g tin, drained)
1-2 tbsp chopped herbs – basil, parsley or oregano (or a mixture of all three)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the garlic bread
A crusty loaf of bread 
4-10 cloves garlic (I like it strong!)
0.5-1 cup olive oil (it depends how large the loaf is)
Pepper
An oven dish approximately 25 x 25cm (10 x 10in)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC fan (200oC/400oF/gas mark 6).

Finely chop the garlic and mix into the olive oil. Add a little pepper, stir and leave to infuse.

Slice the aubergines and courgettes lengthways into 5mm thick slices.

Pour some olive oil into the pan and soften the onions, garlic and celery on a low heat. 

When cooked, add the red pepper, beans and tomatoes. Simmer for around 15 minutes until the sauce is cooked through.

Meanwhile, drizzle olive oil onto a griddle and cook the aubergines and courgettes, several slices at a time, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.

Pour some of the tomato sauce into the oven dish, add a layer of aubergine, then more sauce, a layer of courgette, and so on until the dish is filled with layers of sauce, aubergine and courgette. Decorate with slices of tomato.

Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Slice the bread so the knife goes about 90% through the loaf, leaving the base intact and the slices attached to each other. Put in a baking dish and, using a spoon, drizzle the garlic oil over both sides of each slice. 

15 minutes before the lasagne is ready, put the bread in the oven.

When the lasagne is cooked, remove from the oven and serve with the crusty garlic bread and a large salad, or dish of steamed seasonal green vegetables.

Tip – Frying pan will work if you don’t have a griddle.

This recipe adapts well to other vegetables. In the winter, use slices of cooked potato, parsnip, sweet potato or squash. Cooked whole cabbage and kale leaves make lovely ‘lasagne sheets’ too.

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Further Resources

Books

The Creative Kitchen
by Stephanie Hafferty

No Dig Organic Home and Garden
by Stephanie Hafferty and Charles Dowding

Articles

Seasonal Pesto and Hummus Recipes

Growing Winter Salads

About the Author

Stephanie Hafferty is a no dig gardener, writer and author of The Creative Kitchen and coauthor of No Dig Organic Home and Garden.