Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

Lasagna is totally one of my favorite things to make.  There’s no need for a recipe, and I never make it the same way twice.  I’ve made plenty of vegetarian lasagnas, but they always had mass amounts of cheese to make up for the lack of meat.  So, I wanted to try making a vegan lasagna.  And I did!  And it was tasty!

I’m not going to write out a recipe for this, because lasagna should be whatever you want, but there are a few key things that made this really really good.

1) Sauce.  I made my own, with onions and lots of garlic and a healthy amount of crushed red pepper flakes.

2) Tofu ricotta.  I’ve made tofu ricotta before, and it had pine nuts and various other things in it.  This time I went for a simpler version, taken directly from The PPK.  I needed two batches of it for the lasagna I made, which was three layers in a large roasting pan.

3) Fillings!  I figured I needed something extra in there, and I went for veggies.  I sauted sliced portobello mushroom and some zucchini and deglazed the pan with balsamic vinegar.  That was added between they layers and added some bulk to it.  I’m also thinking of maybe crumbled tempeh sausage in the future.

Bret took a nice picture of my lasagna.  I had covered in it foil and cooked it at 350F for about 45 minutes.  That seemed to do the trick without drying things out and making sure everything was warmed through.  Nothing cheesy to melt here, but some Veganrella on top might be nice!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a pasta recipe, so here we go!  This one is being submitted to Presto Pasta Nights, run by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast!

- Ellen