Anne's E2 Lasagna

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked over and Chris had finished off his piece of lasagna before I’d had two bites of mine! That’s when I knew this one was a keeper. I have made several vegan lasagnas before and they have all been okay but not great. Mostly other peoples recipes, some using super-processed vegan “cheese” that is tasty but not all that healthy, and doesn’t really melt properly. Others used tofu to replace the ricotta layer, I have never been a fan of tofu. After quite a bit of experimentation I decided to make a white bean puree to replace the ricotta layer and it worked out marvelously.

For the chopped veggies I like to use a combination of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, parsnips and zucchini. Feel free to leave any of these out if you don’t want to use them, or substitute with other vegetables.

If you are using home-cooked beans instead of canned, great! Just measure out 1.5 cups, that's about how much is in a can.

If you plan to have garlic bread with this you will want to have a head of garlic and some bread on hand (no butter necessary). There's a link for my Roasted Garlic Bread recipe below.

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation time: 30m
Cooking time: 30m
Total time: 2h

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups chopped veggies
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 can white beans (e.g. navy beans/ drained and rinsed)
  • 5 garlic cloves (peeled)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 3/4 cup ground cashews (divided)
  • 24 ounces pasta sauce (Engine 2: make sure to get a fat-free approved sauce)
  • 4-5 whole grain lasagna noodles
  • 1 cup kale (chopped into 1" pieces)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil (cut into ribbons)
  • 1/2 cup green lentils (uncooked)

Equipment: roasting dish/baking sheet, saucepan, blender, 9x9 lasagna dish

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC.
  2. Chop the veggies into bite sized or smaller pieces then place on a parchment paper lined roasting dish/baking sheet.
  3. Dice the onion into 1/2” pieces and add to the roasting dish. Spread the veggies and onion out so they are in a single layer. If necessary use two roasting dishes. If the veggies overlap they will steam in stead of roasting. Roast at 450ºF/230ºC for 30 min.
  4. Meanwhile put the lentils in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and boil for 25 - 30 minutes until they are soft but not falling apart. They should absorb all of the water, if not just drain off the excess.
  5. While the lentils and vegetables are cooking you can grind the cashews and make the white bean puree. First put 1/2 cup cashews into a blender and process until they are ground. Do not process too long or they could get gummy. You want them crumbly. Pour them out into a small bowl and set aside.
  6. Next combine the white beans, garlic, oregano, nutritional yeast and remaining 1/4 cup cashews in the blender with 1/2 cup water and process until smooth. If you have a very good blender this will be a medium speed, if you have a blender that is a bit older or doesn’t have as much horsepower then process on high in 60-second intervals until you are happy with the consistency, it will likely end up a bit chunkier but that’s ok. Season to taste with a pinch of salt.
  7. When you remove the veggies from the oven turn the heat down to 400ºF/200ºC.
  8. If you are planning to have this with INLINE-LINK-START title="Roasted Garlic Bread" href="../../../recipes/roasted-garlic-bread">Roasted Garlic Bread INLINE-LINK-END you'll want to put the garlic in at the same time as the lasagna since it needs about an hour to cook.
  9. Assemble the layers of the lasagna in a 9x9 lasagna dish. Spread the ingredients of each layer out evenly. Starting from the bottom the layers are:
  10. 1 cup pasta sauce
  11. single layer of lasagna noodles
  12. roasted vegetables
  13. white bean puree
  14. single layer of lasagna noodles
  15. 1 cup pasta sauce
  16. kale
  17. lentils
  18. 1 cup pasta sauce
  19. Cover and bake at 400ºF/200ºC for 45 min. Then remove from the oven, uncover and sprinkle the cashews evenly across the top. Return the oven and bake uncovered for another 15 min to brown the cashews.
  20. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Just before serving top with fresh basil.