Garden Lasagna
- ktsveggielife
- Aug 14, 2016
- 3 min read
When I was a little kid, my favorite food was lasagna. But only my mom's lasagna. I think it is because she used cottage cheese instead of Rocatta cheese so whenever I had normal lasagna, I didn't like it. To this day, one of the only Italian dishes I like is lasagna. My lasagna. I don't like most lasagnas because let's face it, most lasagnas aren't vegan friendly. In fact, most Italian food isn't vegan friendly because of the cheese. Sad day. But don't loose hope, because if you are a lasagna fan, like myself, this is the dish for you.
This recipe is "based" on the recipe that my mom always made. It started as the same recipe without the meat when I was only a vegetarian and has since evolved. It is not much more complicated than making regular lasagna, the only extra work is instead of browning sausage, you make a "Alfredo sauce" that I found on veganricha.com (I wish I could claim it as my own.)
You will notice in the pictures, I do not use an "vegan" cheese on my lasagna. You certain can and I definitely have, and it makes it creamier and richer. However, I just hate paying the amount of money one has to fork out for vegan cheese for just one dish. Call me crazy, but I'd rather keep that $4.00 and do something else with it.
I personally like this dish best in summer because I love to put all the produce from my garden in it. That is one of the best things about a vegetable lasagna, you can put anything in it. Green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, fresh basil, greens, eggplant, butternut squash, the list goes on and on. So please, get creative. Use this recipe as a jumping point and dive into creative cooking, it is so rewarding.
Ingredients
12 lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara sauce
vegan Alfredo sauce (see recipe below)
1/2 block, firm or extra firm tofu
currant, cherry, or Roma tomatoes, washed (diced if using Roma)
fresh green beans, washed and cut in half
zucchini, washed and diced
spinach, shredded
fresh basil, shredded
vegan cheese, optional
"Alfredo Sauce Recipe"
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 loaded c cauliflower florets
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c almond milk
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 c fresh basil leaves
3 T nutritional yeast
2 tsp lemon juice
1 T extra virgin olive oil
fresh cracked black pepper, a generous amount
1 tsp corn starch
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Boil noodles until almost cooked through, strain noodles and drape over sides of pot. Set aside
2. Meanwhile, make the Alfredo sauce. In a large pan, add 1 tsp olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower, water, and salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
3. Wash and chop vegetables
4. Cool slightly and add remainder of Alfredo sauce ingredients and remaining water from steaming cauliflower to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, herbs, and tang if needed.
5. Crumble 1/2 block of tofu and stir into Alfredo sauce
6. In a ceramic or glass 9x13 dish, spoon marinara sauce into the dish and spread to cover bottom of the pan. Layer noodles lengthwise (3 noodles) over the sauce. Cover noodles with a layer of Alfredo sauce. Even spread vegetables and fresh basil over Alfredo sauce, add some vegan cheese if you are using it, and cover with noodles lengthwise.
7. Repeat the process: marinara over the noodles, 3 more noodles, Alfredo, veggies, basil, cheese, noodles.
8. Cover top layer with marinara sauce. Be generous, you should not see any noodles. Sprinkle with vegan cheese if using it. Cover with tin foil and cook 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10-15 minutes. Check it a few times to make sure it doesn't dry out.
9. ENJOY
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