Ok I upfront admit I am not a vegan, there I said it so it is out there for you to know up front. But what I do know is food and how to blend ingredients so they work together and in a coherent set of instructions hopeful too. I do respect anyone who makes any food choice that is right for them and I am in the food business so I try and make things that will serve my visitors well. Now one of my most pinned recipes is the vegetarian lasagna recipe so with this in mind I realized I wanted to take it one step further and offer my vegan friends lasagna they could enjoy as much as their vegetarian counter parts have enjoyed the other.
Now like I said I am not a vegan so although I feel my research is sound and my methods, combinations and proportions should be right on, there are a few things I have to take on faith and if for any reason you have ANY suggestions on how to improve the recipe please leave me a comment and I will adapt with any constructive criticism. Now please keep this all in mind and be civil (my kids see my sites) and I mean no bad intentions but I am not perfect and trying to try this out on my guys would likely get one of my twins roasted by their older brother.
So I ask for your help to make a recipe that is the best it can be for all my vegan friends. Just because someone makes a life choice that is right for them I think we should support everyone in the culinary world and offer food that is not only healthy and wholesome but that just downright taste good. I have been doing this for a very longtime now and one of the things I have always tried to do is treat everyone with respect and respect everyone’s right to their ways. In fact this is our tenth anniversary year this year in internet business lifecycles that is like a 100 in the brick and mortar world and I have gotten here by always trying new things.
Vegan Lasagna with Spinach
Summary:
If you have made the life choice to be a vegan you know there are not always a lot of high quality food choices readily available to you. But this doesn’t mean you can’t with a bit of tweaking make classic dishes that taste great.
Author:
Christine Szalay-Kudra
Cuisine:
Italian
Recipe type:
Lasagna
Serves:
6
Prep time:
30 mins
Cook time:
1 hour
Total time:
1 hour 30 mins
Ingredients
For the Vegan Mozzarella Cheese:
? cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups very hot water
5 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons real lemon
1½ teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
For the Soy White Sauce:
1 cup regular soy milk, not flavored
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon margarine
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Lasagna Filling:
1 package lasagna noodles
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
14 ounces tofu, the firm kind
3 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
20 ounces frozen spinach, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To Make the Vegan Mozzarella Cheese:
In a blender blend all ingredients until totally smooth around a minute or so.
Transfer to a sauce pan and heat over medium heat.
After a few minutes you will notice a change in the mixture like it is beginning to curdle or separate, when this happens lower the heat a bit stirring continuity to prevent it from sticking.
Cook mixture until it is very thick a few more minutes until the mixture will transform into something resembling melted dairy cheese.
Take it off the heat and allow to cool in the refrigerator.
When solid transfer to food processor and shared by pulsing with a chopping blade a few times so it is in pieces to spread over your lasagna.
To Make the Soy White Sauce:
Start by melting your margarine in a saucepan over medium high heat.
Place the garlic in the pan and gentle stir for around a minute do not allow to brown.
Next add in the flour and stir to form thick rue stirring continually for around another minute.
Slowly stir in the soy milk and stir with a whisk avoiding lumps use a hand blender to blend until smooth (tip: this is helpful for any kind of gravy).
Allow to simmer stirring to avoid burning to the bottom of the pan until thick.
Add the cayenne.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
To Prepare the Lasagna Filling:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees f.
Start by precooking the lasagna noodles per the package direction when done cooking drain and put to aside.
Thaw the spinach and press as much of the liquid out of it as possible.
In a skillet add some olive oil and sauté the garlic, onion and mushrooms until tender.
Remove the tofu from its package and drain, reserve 2 tablespoons of the liquid.
Add this to a food processor with the liquid and blend until blended well.
To this add the parsley and pulse a few times to blend.
Move this to a large glass bowl blend in the mushroom, onion and garlic mixture when blended add the spinach and put to the side.
To Assemble the Spinach Tofu Lasagna:
Start by coating a large rectangular baking dish with vegan cooking spray, then spread a layer of the white sauce.
On top of this place a layer of your prepared noodles.
Next spread a layer of your filling mix.
Repeat for consecutive layers until all noodles and filling are used.
Finish by topping with noodles and white sauce.
Evenly spread the cheese mixture on the top.
Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 35 to 40 minutes or until cheese is melted and it is heated through.
Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting.
Photo Description:
This recipe is for all my vegan friends it is a classic lasagna recipe in all the true sense of the word but with all the animal products removed so that you can enjoy it with no worries. I have hopefully given you all you need to make a classic lasagna at home in this recipe. It includes both directions and ingredients for the soy white sauce and also a recipe for how to make your own vegan mozzarella cheese so you have all you need to assemble this recipe.
