Sometimes you just want something satisfying. Something that you can snuggle into and stay there. Maybe you’re looking for something to make for a party or potluck that you know everyone’s going to like. Or maybe you want to make something in advance that’ll allow you to have something ready-to-go in the fridge that’s filling for lunch in the next few days. The perfect food for that is LASAGNA. With comforting tomato sauce, caramelized flavors and crunchy corners, lasagna is that kind of dish that hits the spot and makes you want to do a little happy dance when you’re done. Problem is, if you’re eating a lasagna that’s heavy on pasta and cheese, chances are you won’t have the energy to do a little happy dance and might need to take a nap instead. So we present to you: no-pasta vegan lasagna!

 

 

Don’t be fooled, this lasagna is extremely delectable. It’s satisfyingly rich, sweet, and burnt in all the right places.

The tomato sauce is flavored with fresh basil, carrots, garlic, and oregano to make it super delicious and sweet, while the grilled vegetables give the lasagne a rich smoky flavor and meatiness. We’ve made a super creamy, bechamel-like sauce with cashews as the base to go on top. You might just want to take this sauce and use it on all kinds of dishes that call for a creamy sauce like this – it’s truly magical. Use is on cannelloni, pasta, eggplant “parmesan”, Croque monsieur…the list goes on. We’ve also used whole wheat flour for the base of the bechamel to keep it more nutrient-dense.

Finally, we’ve included slowly caramelized onions to this lasagna, just to give it that sweetness and undeniably good taste. There aren’t that many onions so there’s only one layer in here, but if you want, feel free to double the amount and get 2 layers of caramelized onions in.

Although it may seem like a lot of steps, it’s a pretty straight-forward process. There are a few things that are made at the same time, but it’s all about doing them in the right order so that you don’t end up wasting any unnecessary time. The onions go on first as they take the longest, and these need supervision while you make everything else (just give them a stir every few minutes) to make sure they caramelize evenly. The tomato sauce and “cashewmel” as we call it (see what we did there?) are also pretty straight forward, and the zucchini and eggplant are grilled in the same way. Importantly for the eggplant though is to “cure” it before grilling, as this will get rid of any excess water the eggplant has so that it cooks quicker and the flavor is more intense. You also don’t want the water to be released when you cook the lasagna in the oven, as this will result in a watery bottom of the pan, which nobody wants. Sucking the water out beforehand ensures that all the flavors can be absorbed and mix into each other when it’s all put together into the lasagna at the end.

Optional:

You can include pasta to this lasagna if you want. Cook 1/2 package of whole wheat lasagne pasta according to package instructions and incorporate a few layers of the cooked pasta in between zucchini and eggplant layers as desired.

 

  

 

The Ultimate Vegan Lasagna

Serves 8

 

CARAMELIZED Onions

4 spanish onions, thinly sliced

Sea Salt, to taste

1. Heat a large pan and add onions, and salt. Cook on medium-high for 10 minutes, or until onions soften, making sure to stir frequently to keep them from burning.

2. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 1 hour or until onions are dark brown in color, stirring every 5 minutes or so so that the onions caramelize evenly. Keep them going while you put together the rest of the components, just keep giving it a stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

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TOMATO SAUCE

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 tsp dried Italian oregano

freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1 can (794 g) italian tomatoes

12 leaves fresh basil

sea salt, to taste

1. Heat a medium deep pot and add olive oil and garlic. Cook for 1 minute or until golden brown.

2. Add carrots and cook until they start to get golden brown. Add oregano and pepper.

3. Add tomatoes and squish them down with a potato masher or fork. Lower the flame and cook for 25 more minutes.

4. Add basil leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste, Remove from heat and set aside.

 

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“CASHEWMEL”

6 cups cashew milk

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 dried bay leaf

1 garlic clove, smashed

sea salt, to taste

1. Heat cashew milk on low flame in a medium pot. Heat a separate medium pot on low flame and add olive oil and flour. Cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Add galic and bay leaf.

2. In pot with flour, garlic, and bay leaf. Carefully add heated cashew milk, 1 cup at a time, while whisking. Continue whisking after all 6 cups have been added until no lumps remain.

3. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste. Cover and set aside.

 

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EGGPLANT

1 big eggplant

6 tbsp olive oil

sea salt, for curing

1. Slice eggplant in the same way as the zucchini, into 1/4” slices. Put a drying rack over a baking sheet and lay eggplant slices on rack. Generously sprinkle them with salt. Repeat with another layer of eggplant and salt on top.

2. Cover with a layer of paper towels and put some weight on it—this could be heavy pots, pans, containers, etc. Leave for at least 30 minutes. You should see liquid collect on the baking sheet. This is water coming out of the eggplant; we want to remove excess water to be able to cook it faster and intensify its flavor.

3. Heat grill pan on high. Remove eggplant slices and scrape the salt off of them with your hands. Place them in a bowl and toss with olive oil. Use your hands to mix it all together until well combined.

4. Place eggplant slices on grill, being careful to not overcrowd the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and there are grill marks on each. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

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ZUCCHINI

3 medium zucchinis

3 tbsp olive oil

sea salt, to taste

1. Heat grill pan on high.

2. Slice zucchini into 1/4” vertical slices. You can use a mandolin or a knife. Place zuchinni in a bowl and add olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Use your hands to mix it all together until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

3. Place zucchini slices onto grill, being carefull not to overcrowd the pan—you want to have enough room to flip them over. Cook for about 1 minute on each side, or until cooked through and there are grill marks on each. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

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assembling

3 sprigs Fresh thyme, leaves picked

tomato sauce

caramelized onions

grilled zucchini

grilled eggplant

“cashewmel”

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC. In a 13” X 8.5” lasagna baking tray or Pyrex container, add about 1/4 cup tomato sauce and spread out to cover the bottom.

2. Add enough eggplant slices on top to cover the tomato sauce in one even layer. Add a layer of tomato sauce on top, then a layer of zucchini. On top of the zuchinni, add all caramelized onions in a single layer. Add a layer of tomato sauce and continue layering, alternating between zucchini and eggplant, with tomato sauce in between them until you use all the vegetables (you might have to do a layer of zucchini and eggplant together at the end to use all the spare slices). Do a final layer of tomato sauce and top with a top layer of cashewmel. Sprinkle thyme leaves on top for garnish.

3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove cover and return to oven for another 10 minutes, or until cashewmel layer starts to brown.

4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before cutting and serving.