Smoky Eggplant Kale Vegetarian Lasagna Food

ROASTED VEGETABLE AND KALE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Toss red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, and 4 tablespoons olive oil together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer vegetables to the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
• Roast in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Turn vegetables and roast 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add torn kale and cook until just darkened in color, about 1 minute. Drain.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add drained kale and cook until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Remove bell peppers from the oven and adjust oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Layer pasta sauce, lasagna noodles, roasted bell pepper mixture, and grated mozzarella cheese into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Add another layer of noodles, pasta sauce, kale, and sliced bocconcini cheese. Continue layers until ingredients are used up, being sure to place noodle layers and sauce next to each other to prevent dry noodles.
• Bake lasagna in the hot oven until bubbling and noodles are soft, about 45 minutes. Let cool 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

VEGAN EGGPLANT LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cashew "Cheese" Filling.
• Soak 2 cups raw cashews in 6 cups of water for at least 24 hours. Rinse and drain. Using your food processor or blender, blend the remaining cup of water with the soaked and drained cashews until you reach the consistency of ricotta cheese. Add more water if necessary. Add to the cashew mixture the 2 Tbls. of vinegar,1/2 teaspoons black pepper, 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 Tbls. Italian seasoning. Add more seasonings to taste. Meanwhile, bring a very large stockpot full of water to boil. When water is boiling add 3 bunches of rinsed kale greens (be sure take off the twist ties!) Completely submerse the greens in the water. Blanche kale greens for 5 minutes or until bright green and soft. Drain greens and (do not burn yourself!) cut greens off tough stems and chop into small pieces. Squeeze out excess water with your hands (there will be quite a bit). Add chopped kale greens to the cashew mixture. Stir together.
• Eggplant "Noodles".
• Cut the ends off of 2 large eggplant. Slice into at least 10 slices total. If you wind up with more, that is great too! Rub the 2 Tbls. of salt onto the eggplant slices and let set in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours. (This will draw some of the moisture out of the eggplant. ) After your eggplant slices have sat for a few hours, wash off the salt and pat dry with towels. Coat eggplant slices with melted coconut oil or olive oil. Put on a baking sheet or two and bake in a 400 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes or until fork soft.
• Assembling the lasagna.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In an 8 x 10 pan, spoon out a bit of the pasta sauce into the pan. Then layer 5 eggplant slices. (You may have to cut the pieces to make them fit.) Layer half of the cashew /kale mixture over the eggplant slices. Spoon half of the remaining pasta sauce over the cashew/kale mixture. Then layer the remaining eggplant slices. Layer the remaining cashew/kale mixture. Spoon the remaining pasta sauce on top. Cover with foil or a silicone cover and bake @ 350 degrees for 35- 45 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!