Specials Board: Vegan Lasagne with Soya

Lasagne & Vegan Mofo Day 25

Yesterday, I shared my Recipe for No-Bolognaise, which made 6 portions in total, but by halving the mixture I'm going to show you how one packet of soya mince can be split into 3 tasty meals.

• Spaghetti No-Bolognaise
• Lasagne with a twist
• Chilli Non-Carne

After halving the No-Bolognaise mixture, two portions were devoured for last nights tea, which left one "leftover" portion. Tomorrow I'll show you what I did to this leftover portion, which magically can feed four.

But first I'm going to show you what I did with the other half of the No-Bolognaise and how you can turn this into a tasty lasagne dish with a twist.

Ingredients 

Spray of Olive oil
½ No-Bolognaise recipe
1 Courgette (mine weighed 220g and I used a yellow variety)
1 Tbsp Vitalite
1 Tbsp Plain flour
250ml Almond milk, unsweetened
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
½ Tsp Garlic granules
Scattering of vegan cheese*

* I used a few slices of my courgette cheese

Method

Spray an oven proof dish with olive oil to stop the lasagne sticking to the dish.

Slice the courgette length ways, about 3mm thick, and if you can make the lengths the same size as your oven dish.

Pour half of the No-Bolognaise mixture into the dish and top with half of the courgette slices. Pour the rest of the No-Bolognaise on top and finish off with the remaining courgette slices.

In a saucepan add the Vitalite, plain flour and almond milk and bring to a boil, whisking all the time. The sauce will thicken as it heats up. As soon as the sauce reaches boiling point remove from the heat and whisk in the nutritional yeast and garlic granules.

Pour over the courgette slices and top with a scattering of vegan cheese. I made another batch of my courgette cheese and I used a few slices of this.

Bake in a moderate oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on how thick you have sliced your courgette. Mine was cooked after 20 minutes and the 'cheese' on top was golden brown.

Serve with chips and peas.

Vegan Lasagne

Lasagne is a classic Italian dish which is based on meat, eggs and cheese, which is made by stacking layers of pasta, sauce and a meaty filling, so how do you create a vegan version? Easy! This recipe uses tofu and cashew nuts to substitute a ricotta cheese and then added to spinach, which provides a vegan version of a vegetarian spinach and ricotta lasagne.

You could use a ready made tomato sauce, which will cut down on your cooking time but a homemade sauce will taste better and you can control exactly what goes in it. You most probably have your own way of making a tomato sauce but I've included my recipe in case you want to try it.

Its easy to make and will serve 4 people with a large green salad and maybe some homemade garlic bread.

Ingredients - tomato sauce 

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
150ml Vegan Red wine
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Garlic powder
1 Tsp Porcini powder
1 Tsp Dried oregano
½ Tsp Dried thyme
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
½ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Dried chilli flakes
1 Tbsp Tomato puree
2 Tbsp Fresh basil
Salt & Pepper

Ingredients - lasagne
1 Packet tofu (396g), drained & pressed
30g Cashew nuts, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
100ml Soy Cream
3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tsp Lemon juice
100g Spinach
Salt & Pepper
6 Lasagne sheets
40g Vegan cheese, grated (optional)

Method - tomato sauce
Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent, add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan and stir. Next pour in the wine and give everything another stir. Bring the mixture slowly to a simmer and add the next eight ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly then add the tomato puree and fresh basil. Season to taste and turn off the heat.

Method - lasagne
Add the tofu, cashew nuts and soy cream to a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt & pepper and shredded spinach and blend again. 

Pour a third of the tomato sauce into the bottom of an oven dish then top with 3 lasagne sheets. Spread half the tofu mixture on top and repeat so you have two layers of everything. Pour the remaining sauce on top and add the grated vegan cheese, if using.

Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes

Mexican Lasagne

There's a theme emerging from this blog and its of the Mexican variety! So far I've posted the following Mexican recipes; Fajitas, Tacos, Mexican Stuffed Mushrooms, Guacamole, Salsa and a Refried Bean Wrap!

I'm now going to add to that list and share with you my version of a Mexican Lasagne. This uses flour tortillas instead of lasagne pasta sheets. 

Ingredients
1 Aubergine, diced
1 Courgette, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Red pepper, diced
1 Packet fajita seasoning mix
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic granules
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 Carton tomato passata
3 flour tortillas
1 tbs plain flour
1 tbsp vitalite
400 ml soy milk

Method
Fry the diced onion in a little rapeseed oil until translucent. Add the diced aubergine and courgettes and stir to combine. Continue to fry the vegetables for around 5 minutes, if they start to stick add a little water. Add the red pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the fajita seasoning mix, paprika, chilli flakes and garlic granules and mix thoroughly. Add the tomato passata and stir through. Cook over a medium heat for another 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile make your 'cheese' sauce. Add to a saucepan, the soy milk, vitalite and flour and cook over a low heat whisking all the time until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the mustard and nutritional yeast flakes and whisk to combine. Taste and add more mustard or nutritional yeast flakes to your liking.

Spread a third of the vegetable mixture in an oven proof dish and top with a flour tortilla, its best to half the tortilla and put the straight edge of the cut tortilla to the edge of the oven proof dish. Spread another third of the vegetable mixture over the tortilla and continue to layer until you finish up with the third flour tortilla.

Pour over the 'cheese' sauce and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes. Serve with mexican rice and guacamole.