Healthy Vegetarian (or Vegan) Lasagna

Happy Passover (and Easter), everyone!

Today, I'm going to share a not-so Passover friendly recipe with you--Lasagna with tofu ricotta!! It's vegetarian, and it's delicious. I actually like it a lot better than regular lasagna... And if you choose to substitute the cheese on top for soy cheese, the dish is vegan. Yum!

But before we dive into the recipe, here's a video of Sarah driving for the first time:

Now onto the recipe!

Here are the tools/implements you'll need: 

a food processor

some bowls to mix the ingredients

an oven

a pan with a lid

a couple mixing spoon

a spatula or something to spread the spaghetti sauce with

a 9" x 13" baking dish

The ingredients are split into two categories: (1) the Tofu Ricotta ingredients and (2) everything else. First, I'll explain how to make the Tofu Ricotta, and then I'll go through the actual making of the lasagna. Note, however, that once you get the hang of it, you can actually make the Tofu Ricotta while the vegetables are "sweating" (see below). 

Tofu Ricotta Ingredients: 

1 block of firm tofu (14 oz.), drained (by leaving in a sieve for 20 minutes) or microwaved for 3 minutes

1 1/2 Tsp. tahini

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp. vegetable stock paste/cubes (Hiromi uses Better than Bouillon)

A pinch of ground nutmeg

1 Tsp. mellow white miso

1 Tsp. lemon juice

To make the Tofu Ricotta, take all the above ingredients and put them in a food processor. Viola! Easy enough, I know. The next part is not much more complicated. 

Lasagna Ingredients: 

2 cups spaghetti sauce (Hiromi likes Trader Joe's organic spaghetti sauce)

Some oil (to saute the vegetables)

Some salt

1/2 cup sliced onion

1 cup grated carrot

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

6 oven-ready lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups of the Tofu Ricotta (see above)

1 package (16 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

1 1/2 cups grated cabbage

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or soy cheese)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (omit if you are going for vegan lasagna)

Directions: 

(1) Heat the oil in a pan. Place the sliced onion in the pan with a pinch of salt and saute on medium heat for 1 minute. Then cover with the lid and let the onion suer (French for "sweat" -- called that because the salt and heat cause water to escape from the vegetable) for 3 minutes. Next, throw the carrot into the pan with another pinch of salt, and let everything suer for another 3 minutes. Lastly, throw the cabbage into the pan with a pinch of salt, and let it all suer for another 3 minutes. Transfer everything to a bowl and mix with the oregano and spaghetti sauce. 

(2) If you haven't made the Tofu Ricotta yet, make it now. 

(3) Mix the Tofu Ricotta and spinach together in a separate bowl. 

(4) Spread 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce mixture on the bottom of the baking dish. 

(5) Layer the following on top of the spaghetti sauce in the baking dish in the following order: 3 lasagna noodles; 1/2 of the remaining spaghetti sauce, 1/2 the Tofu Ricotta, 1/2 the sliced mushrooms, 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 the parmesan cheese.

(6) Repeat step (5) with the remaining ingredients. 

(7) Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Enjoy!