Vegan Lasagna Verde

By Kathy PatalskyPublished 04/11/2016
This was a recipe I made in my first few months of blogging. I switched out the traditional red tomato sauce for a green pesto. I added in creamy cashew ricotta and a few thin slices of tofu as well. This verde lasagna is a family-style entree worth gathering at the table for!

Ingredients

• Spicy Jalapeño Pesto:
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 2 cups fresh spinach (or another dark leafy green)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small jalapeño, seeds removed
• 1-3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (as needed)
• Cashew Ricotta:
• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight (drained)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups water or plain non-dairy milk
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• Tofu:
• 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 14 ounces firm tofu, thinly sliced
• a few pinches of salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• Components:
• Cashew Ricotta (above)
• 1/2 – 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese shreds
• Tofu (above) or sub with thinly sliced veggies!
• Pesto (above)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, for garnish
• 12-14 lasagna noodles (or try thinly sliced zucchini)
• extra virgin olive oil for greasing the pan

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a lasagna baking pan with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, drop in 4 of the lasagna noodles and cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the cooked noodles and line them up to cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Repeat until all the noodles are cooked, transferring the cooked noodles to a side plate once you have covered the bottom of the baking dish. Note: reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
3. Pesto: Combine all the pesto ingredients in a blender, plus about 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Increase the speed from low to high until smooth. The pesto should be thick, yet easy to pour, a tad thicker than the consistency of a rich tomato sauce for pizza. To thin out the pesto, simple add a bit more of the pasta water.
4. Tofu: In a sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and season with the salt and pepper and optional nutritional yeast. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, just enough to lightly brown the edges. Set aside.
5. Prepare the cashew ricotta by blending all the ingredients in a high speed mixer until thick and smooth.
6. Layer the tofu over top the noodles. Top with a generoud layer of the ricotta, follower by a layer of pesto, a sprinkle of the cheese shreds and then another layer of noodles. Then add the remaining ricotta and any pesto that you may have left. Add a final layers of cheese shreds on top. Note: You can layer the lasagna however you’d like, the order of the ingredients down’t really matter — just be sure to have some of the cheese shreds on the very top so they brown and bubble and create a melty effect.
7. Cover the lasagna dish tightly with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. The edges should be lightly browned but not overcooked or crispy. When the lasagna is cooked through, I like to remove the foil and cook it under the broil setting for 1-3 minutes. This is optional. Let the lasagna cook 15-30 minutes in the dish before serving. Top with fresh basil to serve.
8. Tip: to moisten the lasagna or soften the noodles, add a few splashes of veggie broth to the pan before covering with foil.

Yield: 12 servingsPrep Time: 00 hrs. 30 mins. Cook time: 00 hrs. 40 mins. Total time: 70 mins. Tags: lasagna,entree,dinner,green,pesto,pasta,vegan,cookbook,ricotta,cashews,dairy free,family dinner