Everyone loves this recipe. And when I say Everyone I mean Everyone; my meat-eating make fun-of me for being vegan doesn’t give compliments uncle, my brother, my mother, my father, my friends, kids, etc. They can’t believe how good it is. They get seconds, thirds, they take home leftovers. Even Garfield the cat would take this down in one gulp and lick his lips. And now I’ll share my secrets with you!
Makes one casserole. Serves 8 with a salad, bread, plant-balls, and dessert!
INGREDIENTS:
Nut Cheese
- 1 Cup Raw Unsalted Cashews
- 1 Cup Raw Slivered Skinned Almonds
- 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Plant Milk (i use almond)
- 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbs Sea Salt
- 1 Tbs Avocado Oil
Ricotta
- 2 Packages (14oz each) Extra Firm Tofu, drained
- 1 Tbs Dried Parsley
- 1 Tbs Avocado Oil
- 1 Tbs Salt
- Nut Cheese you made above (half)
Lasagna
- 1 Lb Lasagna Noodles (cooked aldente)
- 2 Jars of Marinara Sauce (24oz each)*
- Baby Spinach
- Handful of Fresh Basil and Italian Parsley if you have some!
*I use one jar Bertolli basil & garlic, and one jar Rao’s marinara.
Instructions:
Nut Cheese: If you don’t have a high-speed blender like a Blendtech, then you will need to soak the nuts in a dish or jar with water for a few hours until they swell and softened, then drain. In a blender add the nuts, oil, milk, salt, lemon. Blend. If you need more liquid because it got stuck then add a little bit of milk at a time, but not too much because you want it to stay thick. Blend until all the nut pieces are smooth and creamy. Set aside. You will use half in the ricotta and the rest on top of the lasagna.
Ricotta: In a big mixing bowl, put the drained tofu and smash it with a potato masher or fork. Do this until its very small and minced like ricotta looks like. Add the dried parsley, any of the minced fresh herbs you are using, salt, oil, and half the nut cheese you made. Mix. Set aside. You will layer this in 3 layers in the lasagna.
Lasagna: boil the noodles until aldente. About 7 minutes. Then in a 9×13 casserole dish, layer the Lasagna in 4 layers.
- Sauce
- Aldente Noodles
- 1/3 of Ricotta
- Spinach
- Repeat layers 1 through 4 again, and once more to finish the ricotta.
- Top Noodles
- Sauce to cover well
- Nut Cheese
Bake: Cover with foil or an upside down stainless steel baking tray. Bake at 425*F in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Should be bubbly. Take the lid off and bake another 10 minutes. Let settle 15 minutes. Enjoy!
