World's Easiest Vegan Lasagna

While I thought I had already come up with the best vegan lasagna ever, I think I might have done better with this one. It is not only easier, but tastes just like I remember (the non-vegan versions tasting). But seriously, this is the lazy vegan's lasagna. There is almost no chopping (only garlic), there is no sauteing or simmering, and there is minimal cleanup.

Easiest Tastiest Vegan Lasagna
adapted from Classic Tofu Lasagna in 1000 Vegan Recipes

Ingredients
1 package extra firm tofu
1 package firm tofu
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 heaping tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
8 oz oven ready (no boil) lasagna noodles (I used American Beauty brand), 12 noodles
2 jars Barilla Tomato Basil pasta sauce
1/2 package Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds **
1/4 cup vegan parmesan (optional)

Directions
Squeeze the tofu with your hands to remove any excess water. Crumble it into a bowl and add the garlic, nutritional yeast, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mash everything together with your hands or the back of a large spoon. Place it in the refrigerator for about an hour for the flavors to meld.

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9x13 casserole.

Spoon a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of the dish.
Add 3 noodles. Spread 1/3 of the tofu mixture, a sprinkle of Daiya cheese, and then a layer of sauce. Optionally, tear 2-3 fresh basil leaves over the layer.
Repeat 2 more times. Add 3 noodles and top with some sauce. Sprinkle top with (optional) Vegan parmesan and Daiya cheese.

Specifically:
Layer 1 - Sauce
Layer 2 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 3 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 4 - 3 noodles, 1/3 tofu mixture, sauce, daiya
Layer 5 - 3 noodles, sauce, vegan parm, daiya

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

** Look for this at Whole Foods

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Butternut, and Sausage

I saw broccoli rabe at Whole Foods yesterday when I ran in for a quick trip and I was excited to see it since it is rare around here. It was floppy looking, but I decided to try to find a good bunch anyway.  I added it to the weeks menu in my head for the next day's shopping trip (worrying that it wouldn't be there when I went back today).  Of course, I went today and it was nowhere to be seen.  So, I asked and luckily they had some in the back... and it was beautiful!



I found this recipe on Food TV, but of course I had to make some adjustments to make it vegan.



Here is the modified version:

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Butternut, and Sausage
Ingredients

* 2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt
* pepper
* 1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed, cut into thirds
* 1 Apple Sage Field Roast Vegan Sausage, cut into 1/2-inch dice
* Pinch crushed red pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 cups pasta (I used wacky mac - see pic below)
* 1/2 cup vegan Parmesan (I used Parmezano Sprinkles from the Uncheese Cookbook)
* 1/4 cup green pumpkin seeds, toasted

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss the pumpkin with olive oil salt and pepper and place in a single layer on a sheet tray and bake in the oven until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water.

Drop the broccoli rabe into the pot of boiling water, swirl it around, remove from the water, and immediately plunge into the salty ice water. Reserve the boiling water to cook the pasta in. Remove the broccoli rabe from the ice water, squeeze out excess water, and reserve.

Get 3/4 cup of the broccoli rabe water for use below before boiling pasta.

Add the pasta to the reserved boiling broccoli rabe water and cook until the pasta is al dente. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water (yep, you'll need a second measuring cup). Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and add the vegan sausage, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium heat and cook the sausage until browned. When the sausage is browned add the roasted squash and 3/4 cup of the broccoli rabe cooking water. Simmer until the water reduces by half.

Add the pasta to the pan with the sausage and squash. Add the broccoli rabe and about a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Cook until the water has evaporated and the sauce clings to the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the vegan parmesan. Toss or stir vigorously.

Divide the pasta between 2 serving dishes, sprinkle with a little more grated parm, and top with toasted green pumpkin seeds.

Here is a pic of the butternut before baking because it is so pretty:



And a pic of the pasta because it's wacky:

Baked Mac and Cheeze

The recipe below is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson.

---x-posted over at Cooking from 1000 Vegan Recipes---

I've had a favorite vegan macaroni and 'cheese' recipe for years (New Farm Cookbook recipe) and have been quite dedicated to it. I see new recipes for macaroni and 'cheese' all the time and have not been able to bring myself to try another. I sometimes even buy ingredients to try another recipe and wind up making the old standby. Well I finally did it. I made a different recipe.

I tried the Baked Mac and Cheeze and you know, I loved it. I still like my old recipe too, but I cannot decide which one I like more. This recipe is less creamy (and probably a lot healthier) but it tastes great. It has a little onion in it which gives it a nice flavor and also has a healthy dose of cayenne for a big kick. I think I might use just a tad less cayenne next time, but otherwise, I would not change a thing. This recipe will probably now be the go-to macaroni and 'cheese' recipe for a while. It was time for a change.

I used whole wheat breadcrumbs for the topping.



Served it with broccoli.

Seitan Noodle Casserole

The recipe below is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson.

---x-posted over at Cooking from 1000 Vegan Recipes---

I recently bought some seitan from a local natural foods store. I didn't realize till I got home that it was shaved seitan (cut very thinly). I had no idea what to do with that, so I stuck it in the freezer. I was looking through the book looking for something to make and saw the Seitan Noodle Casserole {p 316}. It looked perfect for the seitan in the freezer. I made this last night for dinner and thought it was just ok. I expected it to be creamier than it was (more like a tetrazzini). It tasted fine, but I'm not sure I'd make it again.

Vegan 'Carbonara'

I'm still cooking out of 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson. I'm really liking this book. This is Carbonara Style Pasta. I don't have much to say about this other than YUM.



I used my own vegan parmesan made from the uncheese cookbook recipe, spaghettini, fakin' bacon, and added peas as suggested in the notes. Go make this because it is amazing!

Adventures in Pasta Making

I got the new book The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen and saw beautiful pictures of tortellini and ravioli and decided that I NEEEEEded a pasta maker. Lucky for me I found a reputable Italian one (Atlas 150 ) on Craigslist, barely used, for $12. That totally seems worth the experiment. I am tired of picking up fresh pasta packages in the store to find they used egg in the pasta, or if I do find vegan raviolis or tortellinis in the freezer section, the filling tastes like bleah. Definitely needed to experiment!

I decided to make Tortellini based on a recipe in The Conscious Cook and I pulled out the pasta maker today. Here are some tips I learned by 2/3 through my dough:

1. Recipe says roll pasta out to smallest setting on pasta maker. My smallest setting is 6 and I can see through setting 5. I could handle 5, but liked setting 4 better.


2. After cutting your dough circle for tortellini, never ever ever tap your spoon on the dough to get the rest of the filling out onto the dough. This important lesson was unfortunately figured out near the end of my test. I'd pull the circle over to close it up and it would split. Finally I figure out that the split was exactly where my spoon had tapped.



3. Work with tiny amounts of dough at a time - seriously, like a golf ball+ size. This is especially important if you don't have 2 sets of hands to guide the dough out and keep it from piling up and sticking together.



4. If your c clamp doesn't go high enough to secure the pasta maker to your counter top, you can place a cutting board under the pasta maker.

The last couple of tortellini batches through the pasta machine turned out really well and I had enough of the size 4 and size 5 pastas that we were able to compare. We liked the thicker tortellini (size 4) but that might just be personal preference.

I started with a recipe from the Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen for asparagus tortellini with Saffron Cream Sauce. But, I wanted winter squash stuffed tortellini so I made up my own filling and then added fresh sage and garlic to the sauce along with the shallot and left out the saffron. Holy Cow was this good. I told Mike that if you put a bowl of this sauce next to a bowl of ice cream that I would choose the sauce. When I originally got this book I was annoyed that a lot of the recipes called for homemade cashew cream... but now I think Tal is a genius. That cashew cream is the bomb. And the sauce made with the cashew cream is amazing. Should I keep going on and on and on?

The picture is not great, but the food definitely was. My camera ran out of battery after I'd only taken a couple of shots of the food.



The filling was made from roasted garlic and roasted carnival squash:


The filling was yummy but I think a little too liquidy. I might try adding some tofu ricotta to it next time. I only used about half the filling in the tortellini, so the rest will be going onto a pizza later in the week! This filling (and sauce) would be freakin' awesome in a lasagne. Here is the recipe for the filling:

Roasted Garlic Squash Filling

2 carnival squash
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1-2 Tbsp cashew cream
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half and rub cut side with olive oil. Place face down on a cookie sheet. Wrap head of garlic in foil (drizzle in some olive oil, salt, and pepper before sealing up). Roast for 45 min to an hour till squash is very tender.

Scrape squash out with a fork (to loosen) and a spoon into a food processor. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the food proccessor. Add the remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.

A Happy Vegan Lasagne

I've tried umpteen vegan lasagne recipes since going vegan and I've never been happy.  They either have turned out flat (not enough filling), too spinachy, too fake meaty, or too fake cheesy.  And the noodles never seemed right, as I had switched to no-boil noodles.  I'm never happy with the lasagne results.  I had pretty much given up on lasagne and then I decided I would try one more.  I searched google images for vegan lasagnes that looked good.  I narrowed it down to 2 recipes:

Tempeh Lasange with Cashew Cream Sauce

HSUS Vegan Lasagne

I then combined the aspects of each that I liked and came up with my own version.  And holy moly!!  This time the lasange rocked!  I am actually looking forward to the leftovers tonight (isn't that the best part of lasagne - meals for days).


(Not my best photography)

Here is my version of vegan lasagne which we declared a keeper. I won't lie to you. It's a lot of work - good for a lazy saturday when you have nothing better to do. The parts can all be made separately and then thrown together after the noodles are boiled.

Vegan Lasagne

Ingredients:
lasagna noodles (~15 noodles)
Vegan parmesan (I like Parmezano Sprinkles from the Uncheese cookbook)
1/2 block Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella

Sauce:
1 1/2 24-oz jars Barilla Tomato Basil Sauce
8 oz five grain tempeh
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp+ white wine
1/2 tsp dried basil

Tofu Ricotta
1 pkg extra firm tofu (~14-16 oz)
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 Tbsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Cheese Sauce
1 cup of water
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (I just get a red bell pepper and broil it and peel it)
1/4 cup raw blanched almonds
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp tahini
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp corn starch (or arrowroot)
Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic powder

Directions

Cut the tempeh in half and steam for 20 minutes. Let it cool for a bit and then finely grate it. I use the food processor to get a really fine grate on the tempeh.

Press the tofu for the tofu ricotta.

If you are roasting your own red bell pepper for the sauce, blacken a red bell pepper in the broiler. When blackened on all sides, place the pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. Then uncover and peel the pepper. Dice the pepper and set aside for the cheese sauce later.

In a nonstick skillet over med-high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and the onions. Cook the onions until the brown slightly. Add the garlic. Cook for another 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the grated tempeh and another tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the tempeh until golden brown. This takes about 7-10 minutes. Mix the soy sauce and liquid smoke. Add the soy sauce mixture the tempeh (carefully as the tempeh will want to jump out of the pan, have a lid handy). Add the white wine. Cook for a minute. Add 1 1/2 jars of Barilla Tomato Basil sauce and 1/2 tsp dried basil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside. You can put this in the fridge for later.

Crumble the tofu with a fork and mix in the ricotta seasonings (basil, nutritional yeast, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper). Set aside. You can put this in the fridge for later.

If you are making your own parmezano sprinkles, this is a good time to make those and set aside (see recipe link above).

Now you are ready to actually make the lasagne. :)

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

Put a big pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook the noodles as instructed.** Drain well.

Meanwhile, blend together the ingredients for the cheese sauce in a blender.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray or wipe with olive oil.

Spread 1/3 of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover with about 5 noodles, slightly overlapping each other. Cover the noodles with 1/2 of the ricotta. Pour a thin layer of cheese sauce over all. Lay 3 more noodles, then ricotta, then 1/3 marinara sauce, then cheese sauce (leave a little for the top). Lay down the last 3 noodles, and pour the remaining marinara sauce over the top. Pour any remaining cheese sauce over the marinara. Sprinkle the vegan mozzarella over the sauce.

Bake for 40 minutes covered, then for 30 minutes uncovered. If the vegan mozzarella is not looking melted when there is about 10 minutes left, swap the oven to the broiler so that the vegan cheese will melt by the time it is finished.

Let lasagne sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan.

** Don't use no-boil noodles for this. The texture is really not the same and this recipe will not have enough sauce/liquid to cook the noodles.

Svedish "Meeetballs"

Last night we made Cozy Inside's Swedish "Meatballs".  They were pretty good (and scary real looking, huh).  

I noticed the comments on the recipe indicated that people had troubles with the balls sticking together so after I hydrated the TVP, I added about another 1/4 to 1/3 cup stock.  I had no problems with them sticking together.  

While this recipe was ok, I think it needs some tweaks.  Most importantly, I would double the sauce (or half the "meatballs" and pasta).   It is definitely worth making if you are craving that sort of thing.  I think next time I might try a different meatball recipe because I am not a huge fan of TVP (but, these were good too).  Has anyone out there tried LightLife ground for something like this?

Squashage Pasta

I'd heard how good the Field Roast vegan sausages were and I'd been dying to try them. Unfortunately the Whole Foods in Framingham doesn't carry them. I stopped at the Whole Foods in Cambridge last week and grabbbed some Italian style Field Roast Sausages while I was there. Once I got them, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them. Last night after a mid-day BVA meeting (around 4:30), I didn't know what we were having for dinner and I still needed to go to the grocery but there wasn't much time left in the day. So, in the car on the way back from Boston, I concocted this recipe for Squash-age Pasta in my head for a quick cooking dinner later in the evening. The Field Roast sausages ARE the best vegan sausages I've had. They were yummy!



Squashage Pasta
Serves 5

1 med sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced into 1/2 in cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 pinch crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp (or more) pine nuts
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
2 Field Roast vegan sausages, quartered lengthwise and then sliced (or other brand of vegan sausages ~ 6 oz).
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp+ white wine or mirin
5 oz baby spinach
16 oz whole wheat penne

Preheat oven to 385. Place the butternut squash on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick foil. Add enough olive oil to generously coat the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the squash and add the garlic, pinenuts, sage, and crushed red pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, stir and then cook for another 15 minutes (total time of 40 minutes). Pine nuts and garlic should lightly brown. If they are cooking too fast, push the squash and other ingedients together in one end of the cookie sheet to protect the squash and pine nuts with the moisture from the squash.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile (in the last 5 minutes or so of the squash cooking in the oven), in a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and cook till lightly browned. Add the vegan sausage and cook for about a minute till heated through. Add a couple of tablespoons of white wine to deglaze. Then add the spinach, cover and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir and then cook for another 15 seconds. You want the spinach to just wilt. Add the squash mixture and stir to combine. Here is how it looks in the skillet at this point:



Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot. Add the squash/sausage/spinach mixture to the pasta and toss to combine.

Baked "Cheesy" Pasta with Vegetables and Baked Tofu

I don't normally like frozen dinners, but there is one Amy's bowl used to love in my pre-vegan days, Country Cheddar Bowl. I was thinking about it the other day and decided to recreate it as a vegan meal. I used Jo Stephaniak's "Amazing Mac 'N Cheez Sauce" (from the Uncheese Cookbook) as the base. Here is my version:

Baked Cheesy Pasta with Vegetables
10 oz. Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta
10 baby red potatoes, halved
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tbs Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 small Carrot, cut into matchsticks.
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into short narrow strips
2 cups Broccoli florets
1/4 cup white wine or water
1 Tbs tamari
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 lb. Baked Tofu (Wildwood savory style or White Wave, italian style), cut into 3/4" pieces
-----------
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9x11 casserole with olive oil spray.
Cook Rotini Pasta according to package directions. Drain, Rinse, set aside.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment. Coat with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside.
MEANWHILE, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until they just start to turn brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly. Add the carrots and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add bell pepper and broccoli along with 1/4 cup wine or water and 1 Tbs tamari. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes, until broccoli is tender, but still crisp. Set aside.
To make the sauce, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in the soy milk, olive oil, and mustard. Cook over medium heat until it thickens and is smooth and bubbly.
In a large bowl (or the pot used to boil the pasta), mix the pasta, tofu, potaotes, vegetables, and "cheese sauce". Pour into the casserole and cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Roasted Squash Pasta (4 1/2 stars)

Tonight we made Roasted Squash Pasta. It was really good. I made a few minor modifications. I only used 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (this was plenty). I cooked the squash at 385 degrees. And, I added the garlic, pine nuts, and spices after the squash had been in the oven for 10 minutes so that they wouldn't burn. I stirred during this addition and again 15 minutes later. We had it with some steamed broccoli. We both called this one a keeper.



** Note - peeling butternut squash - While this looks really difficult, it is actually quite easy. You can peel a butternut squash with a regular old vegetable peeler. After peeled, slice it down the middle and scoop out the seeds and goo. Then chop it up.