I wasn't about to make the noodles though, so I bought kamut lasagna noodles. I saw some brown rice noodles (which would have made a gluten free lasagna), but opted for the kamut for the protein content, and the fact that it wasn't pre-cooked (I don't know why but pre-cooked stuff seems a bit sketchy to me...don't ask me why I think so!). I used these, by Artisan Acres:
As I said, I posted the recipe for the sauce in my last post. I made a ricotta style cheese out of tofu, and I really liked it both on it's own and in the lasagna. I had leftover toasted nuts that I combined with nutritional yeast to use as a parmesan to sprinkle on top.
I also included plenty of roasted vegetables to balance out all those heavy ingredients. Can't ever have a recipe without some vegetables!
Of course lasagna has a gazillion variations. Feel free to use whatever cheese, sauce, noodles, or other filling ingredients you wish. You can also use the ricotta in other things like pasta or on pizza. Like I said, it's quite lovely on it's own!
The Best Ever Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients:
-1 box lasagna noodles of choice, cooked according to package directions
For the tofu ricotta:
-1 block organic tofu, medium firm to firm
-3-4 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 tbsp tahini
-1 tsp oregano
-1/2 tsp sea salt
For the sauce:
Use recipe here
For the veggies:
Use enough chopped vegetables, roughly the same size, to fill a large, lightly greased baking sheet. I used broccoli, bell peppers, red onions and zucchini.
For the parmesan topping (optional):
-1/4 cup finely chopped toasted nuts (you can use a food processor and pulse)
-1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Directions:
*Note: I roasted my veggies the night before at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, until they looked "roasted enough", for lack of a better word. You can do this too to save time! Just toss with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. No need to add oil, except to lightly oil your baking sheet.
1. Preheat oven to 375. If you haven't roasted your veggies yet, you can turn the heat up higher. Roast them for about 20-30 minutes, checking that they don't burn.
2. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and a pinch of sea salt or a kombu leaf, and cook the noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water gently. Set aside.
3. Take your block of tofu and crumble with your hands into a bowl until it resembles ricotta cheese. Take half of it, along with the other cheese ingredients, and process in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth. Return to bowl and toss with other half. This gives it some texture. If you don't have a processor or blender, I'm sure you can just keep the whole thing chunky and combine the ingredients in your bowl manually.
4. If your oven was turned up higher, bring the heat down to 375. In a lightly greased lasagna pan, layer cooked noodles, a generous dollop of sauce, ricotta, and vegetables, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat until you have three layers of noodles, but don't put veggies on the top layer. So it's gonna be like this from the bottom: noodles, sauce, cheese, veggies. Noodles, sauce, cheese, veggies. Noodles, sauce, cheese. Now you can mix your parm ingredients, then sprinkle it on top if you're using it.
5. Cover your lasagna with aluminum foil, and pop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes. Gently remove from the oven, let it cool for a bit, slice, and devour!
You're welcome. :) I added more fresh basil on top of mine!
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What a housewife... excuse my messy hair. It's part of the look...
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