BEST Vegan Lasagna Ever!

~ LASAGNA ~

“Best Vegan Lasagne Ever!”

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An easy, foolproof, flavorful lasagne layered with a robust spicy tomato sauce, rich garlic-y grilled mushrooms or delectable zucchini, and flavorful herb infused ricotta-style cheese, nestled in perfect pasta, and topped with melted herbed Italian parmigiana-style cheese!

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°
Lasagna baking pan, ungreased
Large pot to boil the lasagna noodles in
Strainer
Measuring spoons and small bowls
Med size mixing bowl to prepare the ‘ricotta cheese’
Med size mixing bowl for the sauce
Wooden cutting board and vegetable slicing knife
Ladle or large spoon
Fork

Ingredients

1 box Whole Foods brand Imported Organic Italian Lasagna noodles

1 block extra firm or firm tofu, Wildwood (or Nasoya) organic, drained very well – for best results use this awesome product to drain your tofu

2 tsp organic lemon juice

2 tsp good quality organic olive oil

6 cloves fresh garlic, minced

¼ cup ‘nooch’ (nutritional yeast)

a generous handful of fresh organic basil leaves, chiffonaded or minced

Celtic sea salt and cracked pepper

1 jar Seeds of Change – Tomato Basil Genovese sauce

1 jar Lucini – Spicy Tuscan Tomato Sauce (this is what gives the lasagna its’ ‘kick’)

1 lg box or 2 bunches of organic washed baby spinach leaves OR 3 med size fresh organic zucchini, scrubbed, sliced thinly into ‘coins’ AND/OR 4 large fresh sliced portobello mushrooms (de-stemmed/de-gilled/washed/patted dry), sauteed in garlic and olive oil until cooked but still firm and set aside

1 cup Daiya – Italian style shredded ‘parmigiana-style’ vegan cheese, (this amazing cheese is hard to find so you can substitute the easier to find Follow Your Heart brand)

optional dried Italian herbs

Directions

Bring large pot of filtered water, salted, to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain, rinse, return to pot, toss gently with olive oil, set aside

Prepare the ‘riccotta cheese’: (feel free to adjust amounts ‘to your taste)

With your hands (or you can use a fork to blend the ingredients) mush the well-drained tofu until it is in tiny crumbles. (I use medical gloves much of the time when I cook and this is one of those times, but feel free to use your bare hands – it’s just a matter of personal preference)

Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper – keep mushing.  Add olive oil – keep mushing. Add the ‘nooch’ and basil – keep mushing.

Time to layer the lasagna in the lasagna pan

Pour both jars of sauce into a bowl and blend with a fork

Ladle about a ¼” layer of sauce into bottom of lasagna pan

Layer noodles to cover sauce completely and touch sides of pan – you might need to trim the length of the noodles if they are too long for the pan

Distribute layer of ‘ricotta cheese’ evenly over noodle layer – feel free to use your hands again to do this and don’t worry about being perfect about it

Distribute a layer of spinach (about 6-10 leaves high) and/or mushrooms, or zucchini and/or mushrooms

Start again by adding a layer of sauce, noodles, cheese, veggies and/or mushrooms, two more times

The top layer will be noodles covered with sauce, then sprinkled generously with the ‘parmigiana’ cheese mixed with optional dried Italian herbs

Bake for approx 35-45 minutes until you can see that the sauce is bubbling and the cheese on top is melted and well done

Let the lasagna ‘rest’ for about a half hour before serving. Should there be any leftovers, this is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day