VEGAN LASAGNA WITHOUT TOFU RECIPES

Steps:

• Make the marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste, Italian seasoning and red-pepper flakes, then stir in the diced and crushed tomatoes and sugar, if using. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. Add salt to taste. You can leave the sauce textured or purée it with an immersion blender, depending on your preference. Remove from heat.
• Make the ricotta: Add the cashews and garlic to a food processor and process until the cashews form a coarse meal, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the processor, then turn the processor back on. While it’s running, drizzle in 1/2 cup water and the lemon juice. Process until completely smooth and the texture resembles hummus, another 2 minutes.
• Crumble the block of tofu into the processor, add the nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper. Continue processing until the mixture is smooth and resembles ricotta, stopping to scrape the sides of the processor as needed, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
• Assemble the lasagna: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bring a large, salted pot of water to boil. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions, until they’re al dente. (Skip this step if you’re using no-boil noodles.)
• Layer 1 scant cup marinara sauce at the bottom of your lasagna dish. Cover it with a layer of 3 to 4 lasagna noodles. Cover the noodles with half the vegan ricotta. Cover the ricotta with another layer of noodles, followed by another cup of marinara and the remaining ricotta. Add a final layer of noodles and the remaining marinara sauce. Bake the lasagna for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the marinara on top is dark and the lasagna is bubbling. Top with torn basil leaves, if desired, and serve.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: In a large, heavy saucepan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Place the onions in the saucepan and saute them until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 5 minutes more.
• Place the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and parsley in the saucepan. Stir well, turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer covered for 1 hour. Add the salt and pepper.
• While the sauce is cooking bring a large kettle of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles for 9 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the tofu blocks in a large bowl. Add the garlic, basil and parsley. Add the salt and pepper, and mash all the ingredients together by squeezing pieces of tofu through your fingers. Mix well.
• Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the tofu. Next ladle 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the tofu, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/3 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top the tofu with 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, and place a final layer of noodles over the tomato sauce. Finally, top the noodles with the final 1/3 of the tofu, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over everything.
• Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy.