Vegan Lasagne!
Oh hey, nice to see you again so soon. I decided to make another recipe post, this time for vegan lasagne! Who doesn't love lasagne?
I apologise for the lousy photos. I really have no idea how to photograph lasagne so that it looks as good as it tastes. Plus, the lighting in my kitchen sucks and I'm just not a food photographer because I have no patience. But, I promise you, it tastes great, and looks way prettier in person/in your mouth.
As mentioned, I am not a patient person. This meal is a lot more involved than most things I make, but I think it's worth it. Plus, this is about as lazy a version of lasagne you could get, next to buying one from the grocery store.
Tofu Ricotta ingredients
1 block firm or medium-firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt
Ragu ingredients
1 medium onion
5 cloves of garlic (or just follow your heart)
2 medium carrots
450g fresh mushrooms *
1 can crushed tomatoes (796ml/28oz)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp sugar
Salt + pep
Optional: 2 stalks of celery (a traditional mirepoix base uses carrot, onion, and celery. I didn't have celery and didn't feel like going to the grocery store. Still tastes fine to me.)
Optional: 1/2 cup of red wine. If you've any left that you haven't chugged in a quarantine depressive episode.
Optional: you can add pinch of red pepper flakes, if you like a hint of spice.
* If you don't like mushrooms, you can sub a package of your preferred veggie ground meat. I like Yves Ground Round.
Rest of the ingredients
Lasagne noodles (I used the kind that don't need to be precooked, because, as mentioned, lazy. If you have the kind that need to be precooked, then please do so per the instructions on the package)
Your cheese of choice. This time, I used Daiya mozza and cheddar shreds, but any similar product will work. Make sure it's something that gets nice and melty. Alternately, just use real cheese if you're not vegan!
Ricotta method
Put everything in a food processor or high speed blender. Puree til smooth. Salt to taste.
That's it. Now put it in the fridge and make the ragu
Ragu method
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium to large size saucepan over medium heat. While it's heating, dice your onion and carrots (and celery, if using). Or, if you're lazy like me, blast it all in a food processor. You want a relatively small dice, but don't run it for too long or it'll turn into paste.
Throw those veggies into the pot, and saute them until they start to soften (about 5 min)
While the veggies are cooking, prepare your mushrooms. Wash them, and dice them into medium pieces. Or, blast em in the food processor.
Once the veggies are soft, throw in the mushrooms (or veggie ground), garlic, herbs, and seasonings (and red wine, if you're using it).
Cook everything together for another 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms start to soften, then add the can of crushed tomatoes and sugar. Cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every so often.
After half an hour, give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if needed. You can leave it to cook for longer, and let the flavour develop a bit more. Do what you want. I'm not here to tell you what to do. These are all just suggestions.
Assembly!
Preheat your oven to 375
Grab your baking dish of choice. Common choice would be a Pyrex dish, but I lost mine (who has it? I'd like it back please), so I'm using a loaf pan. I actually like the loaf pan because you can fit a ton of layers in it (more layers = more betterer), but it's narrow for single portions.
Smear a healthy layer of ragu on the bottom of the dish. Then add a layer of noodles. Then layer on some of the ricotta, followed by another layer of ragu, and then another layer of noodles. Keep building in this order until you hit half an inch below the edge of your dish. The top layer should be the ragu.
Once you've finished your layers, just dump like a shitload of cheese on it. Like layers, more cheese always = more betterer. So just get stupid with the cheese.
I like to put the baking dish on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven, because it can get a bit drippy. Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pull the foil off and bake for another 15 min. If the cheese still doesn't look quite melty and bubbly enough, crank on the broiler for 5-10 min.
After you pull it from the oven, I know you're gonna want to dive in straight away. Again, I'm not here to tell you what to do, but I'd advise to let it sit for 15 min before digging in. It'll still be hot AF, it'll just be easier to cut into and will keep it's structure better.
That's it! Eat your lasagne! Throw on a little fresh parsley, if you're feeling like a fancy bitch?
Maybe you wanna serve it with a lil side salad? Maybe you don't? I usually do, but my spinach was wilted, so I just had a second piece of lasagne on the side instead.
I apologise for the lousy photos. I really have no idea how to photograph lasagne so that it looks as good as it tastes. Plus, the lighting in my kitchen sucks and I'm just not a food photographer because I have no patience. But, I promise you, it tastes great, and looks way prettier in person/in your mouth.
As mentioned, I am not a patient person. This meal is a lot more involved than most things I make, but I think it's worth it. Plus, this is about as lazy a version of lasagne you could get, next to buying one from the grocery store.
Tofu Ricotta ingredients
1 block firm or medium-firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt
Ragu ingredients
1 medium onion
5 cloves of garlic (or just follow your heart)
2 medium carrots
450g fresh mushrooms *
1 can crushed tomatoes (796ml/28oz)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp sugar
Salt + pep
Optional: 2 stalks of celery (a traditional mirepoix base uses carrot, onion, and celery. I didn't have celery and didn't feel like going to the grocery store. Still tastes fine to me.)
Optional: 1/2 cup of red wine. If you've any left that you haven't chugged in a quarantine depressive episode.
Optional: you can add pinch of red pepper flakes, if you like a hint of spice.
* If you don't like mushrooms, you can sub a package of your preferred veggie ground meat. I like Yves Ground Round.
Rest of the ingredients
Lasagne noodles (I used the kind that don't need to be precooked, because, as mentioned, lazy. If you have the kind that need to be precooked, then please do so per the instructions on the package)
Your cheese of choice. This time, I used Daiya mozza and cheddar shreds, but any similar product will work. Make sure it's something that gets nice and melty. Alternately, just use real cheese if you're not vegan!
Ricotta method
Put everything in a food processor or high speed blender. Puree til smooth. Salt to taste.
That's it. Now put it in the fridge and make the ragu
Ragu method
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium to large size saucepan over medium heat. While it's heating, dice your onion and carrots (and celery, if using). Or, if you're lazy like me, blast it all in a food processor. You want a relatively small dice, but don't run it for too long or it'll turn into paste.
Throw those veggies into the pot, and saute them until they start to soften (about 5 min)
While the veggies are cooking, prepare your mushrooms. Wash them, and dice them into medium pieces. Or, blast em in the food processor.
Once the veggies are soft, throw in the mushrooms (or veggie ground), garlic, herbs, and seasonings (and red wine, if you're using it).
Cook everything together for another 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms start to soften, then add the can of crushed tomatoes and sugar. Cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every so often.
After half an hour, give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if needed. You can leave it to cook for longer, and let the flavour develop a bit more. Do what you want. I'm not here to tell you what to do. These are all just suggestions.
Assembly!
Preheat your oven to 375
Grab your baking dish of choice. Common choice would be a Pyrex dish, but I lost mine (who has it? I'd like it back please), so I'm using a loaf pan. I actually like the loaf pan because you can fit a ton of layers in it (more layers = more betterer), but it's narrow for single portions.
Smear a healthy layer of ragu on the bottom of the dish. Then add a layer of noodles. Then layer on some of the ricotta, followed by another layer of ragu, and then another layer of noodles. Keep building in this order until you hit half an inch below the edge of your dish. The top layer should be the ragu.
I like to put the baking dish on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven, because it can get a bit drippy. Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pull the foil off and bake for another 15 min. If the cheese still doesn't look quite melty and bubbly enough, crank on the broiler for 5-10 min.
After you pull it from the oven, I know you're gonna want to dive in straight away. Again, I'm not here to tell you what to do, but I'd advise to let it sit for 15 min before digging in. It'll still be hot AF, it'll just be easier to cut into and will keep it's structure better.
That's it! Eat your lasagne! Throw on a little fresh parsley, if you're feeling like a fancy bitch?
Looks incredible! Can't wait to try
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