The Vegetarian Lasagna That Fooled My Father Food

BASIC + AWESOME VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the mushrooms, walnuts, and zucchini in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture is very finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this process with garlic, onion, and carrots.
• Heat butter or olive oil over medium high heat. Add your chopped veggies along with the spices. Sauté for 7-10 minutes until very soft and fragrant. Add tomato sauce and salt; stir to combine. Taste and adjust! Your seasoning amounts will depend on your brand of sauce.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix mascarpone cheese with grated garlic and salt.
• Start with spreading a layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then, layer in the following order for each layer: a few noodles, 1 cup sauce, a few dollops of mascarpone, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and repeat (I usually get 4 layers out of this amount). End with noodles, sauce, cheese, and dollops of extra sauce on top to make it pretty.
• Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes to get the cheese browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes or so, then cut and serve!

WORLD'S BEST (NOW VEGETARIAN!) LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in plant-based sausage, meat substitute crumbles, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, 1 tablespoon parsley, sugar, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles; cook 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse noodles with cold water.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, stir together egg, ricotta, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl.
• To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 of the sauce in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella slices. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake, covered with cooking spray-coated foil, for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes more. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing into 12 equal servings.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the sauce: Put the olive oil and garlic in a medium pot over low heat. Cook the garlic, stirring occasionally at first and more often as it colors, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-low, add the onions and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, basil sprig, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt, raise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a lively simmer. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until quite thick (if you draw a spoon through the sauce, you'll see the bottom of the pot for a few seconds before the sauce fills back in), about 30 minutes. As the sauce thickens, turn the heat down a bit so the bottom doesn't scorch. Stir in the chopped basil. Let cool to room temperature before assembling the lasagna. (Makes 1 quart.)
• To assemble: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Squeeze the spinach in your hands to remove as much liquid as possible. Put it in a large bowl, and stir in the ricotta, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the egg, 1 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg.
• Spread 3/4 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles across the sauce (they won't touch). Spread 3/4 cup tomato sauce on top. Dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture (about 1 cup) across the sauce, and use the back of a spoon to spread it (it will smush into the tomato sauce, which is fine). Scatter 1 cup of the mozzarella on top.
• Repeat the layering 2 more times. Top with the last 3 noodles, spread the last 3/4 cup tomato sauce over them and scatter the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Spray a large piece of foil with cooking spray, and cover the baking dish.
• Bake until the noodles are soft and the cheese has melted, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake until the cheese is bubbling and the lasagna is slightly browned around the edges, about 15 minutes more. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

THE VEGETARIAN LASAGNA THAT FOOLED MY FATHER

Steps:

• You'll need a large glass baking dish or 5 to 6 miniature loaf pans to make this dish.
• Blanch zucchini in boiling water for 1- 1.5 minutes.
• Drain zucchini and place between tea towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Otherwise your lasagna will be watery.
• Sautee chopped mushrooms in olive oil, seasoning with salt & pepper.
• Add soy crumbles to mushroom mixture and sautee 1-2 minutes, then add spaghetti sauce.
• In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic powder & salt & pepepr to taste.
• Begin by layering the bottom of your loaf pan(s) with strips of zucchini, then a layer of the cheese mixture, and finally a layer of sauce,a nd repeat. This should just about fill your pans.
• Cover with a layer of mozzarella.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and/or foil and freeze, or bake at 400 for 30 minute.
• If taking out of the freezer, thaw in the fridge for a day and pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

EASY VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and soften, about 5 minutes. Add the kale and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper and set aside.
• 2. Combine the lasagna noodle pieces with 1 cup water in a large bowl and stir with a rubber spatula. Add the heavy cream and stir until the pieces are evenly coated. Stir in the ricotta cheese, Parmesan, nutmeg, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the kale mixture and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and top with the shredded mozzarella
• 3. Cover the dish with nonstick foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until the lasagna is bubbly and slightly browned on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes and serve.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA LOAF

Steps:

• Break the noodles in half widthwise; set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine sauce mix, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Gradually stir in milk.
• Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
• In an 8x4x2 inch loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray, layer 1/2 cup sauce, 2 noodle pieces, 1/4 cup ricotta or cottage cheese, 1/4 cup vegetables, and about 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese topping.
• Repeat layers 3 times.
• Top with remaining noodle pieces, sour cream, 1/2 cup sauce, tomato and remaining Parmesan cheese topping.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and noodles are tender.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• Reheat remaining sauce; serve with lasagna.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Spray 12x10-inch sheet of foil with nonstick cooking spray. In medium bowl, combine pasta sauce and zucchini; mix well. In another medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese and oregano; mix well.
• Spread 1/4 cup sauce mixture in ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish. Top with 2 lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce mixture over noodles. Drop 1/2 cup of spinach mixture by small spoonfuls over sauce mixture; spread carefully. Sprinkle with 1/4 of mushrooms and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat layers 3 more times, beginning with noodles. Cover with foil, sprayed side down; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Bake covered for 45 minutes.
• Uncover baking dish; bake an additional 10 minutes or until lasagna is bubbly around edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.