Add the salt, pepper and herbs to each batch of ingredients as you cook them, as it’s easier to taste. Also, for assembling the lasagna, have all the ingredients warm to check for the right consistency.

• 2 lb of eggplants (about 4 unpeeled eggplants) baked for 1 hour or more in 400°F oven. Prick them with a fork on the top surface so they do not explode.
• 2 lb of ground lamb, cooked and drained of fat
• 2-3 large onions, sliced
• Thyme, salt and pepper
• 3 packages of sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1 package of grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 5 ounce package of parmesan, grated
• 1 can of tomato sauce (I buy Classico w/ roasted peppers and onions, or sundried tomato sauce)
• Madeira wine
• 1 package of oven ready lasagne 

Béchamel sauce

5 Tbsp of butter
5 Tbsp of flour
2 cups of milk
Some salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg

• Make the béchamel: melt the butter in a medium pan, add the flour and mix well.
• Slowly add the milk and keep the mixture smooth.
• Let it come to a boiling point to make sure the flour is cooked.
• Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
• Put a thin layer of milk or cream on top to prevent a skin from forming. Reserve.
• Cook the onions in a heavy skillet until slightly brown.
• Add salt, pepper and a pinch of thyme.
• While the onions are cooking, take the pulp out of the cooked and cooled eggplants.
• Crush the pulp with a fork or crudely cut with a knife.
• Add the onions and the cooked ground lamb to this mixture.
• Add half the béchamel sauce, half the grated mozzarella cheese and all of the parmesan cheese.
• Mix well.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Put the tomato sauce in the food processor if it is chunky, add a bit of Madeira wine, cook for 10 minutes and reserve.

Assembling the lasagne

• Butter the whole lasagna dish and spread the remaining béchamel sauce at the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.
• If there is too much left, add the remaining sauce to the mixture of eggplant/lamb/onion.
• Put a layer of oven ready lasagne on top of the sauce and layer immediately with 1/3 of the eggplant mixture.
• Cover with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat one or two more time depending on the depth of your pan.
• Finish with a layer of lasagne.
• Cover it with the tomato sauce.
• Cook for 1 hour at 350°F.  The lasagne can also be frozen at this stage.*
• When ready to serve, add the remaining mozzarella cheese and cook until brown on top.

* From the freezer, cook the lasagne covered for two hours (325°F) to unfreeze, then proceed the last line.