Vegetarian Lasagne

A lot of veggie lasagne recipes call for zucchini and eggplant as the meat substitute, which is fine if you like zucchini…or eggplant, but neither of us are keen on either.  (This is a real annoyance when dining out, as most chefs will use both in what few vegetarian options they offer on a menu).  Perhaps I should have mentioned that the irony of writing a blog mostly about food is that we’re ridiculously picky eaters?

Anyway, this is an eggplant-free, zucchini-free, vegetarian version of the LoonySpoon’s recipe a friend sent me a while back when I was making lasagne for friends who were expecting their first child (recipe can be found here).  I’ve doubled the recipe here since they freeze well and make great gifts.  It’s always good to have lasagne on hand for those nights you just don’t feel like cooking. 

Ingredients:

Sauce:
10 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups diced onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 pkg extra firm tofu, diced or chopped in a food processor
1 jar (700 mL) tomato sauce (we use the Classico Spinach and Cheese)
1 large can (19 oz/540 mL) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh basil leaves

Filling:
2 cups light ricotta cheese
2 300g pkgs soft tofu
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped
2 eggs
2 boxes of oven ready lasagna noodles (I like having extra on hand)
2-3 pkgs shredded 4-cheese blend (we like ours extra cheesy)

Directions:

Sauce:

1. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over sun-dried tomatoes and let soak while you prepare the sauce.
2. To make sauce, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions have softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms and heat until cooked.
4. Add all remaining sauce ingredients, except fresh basil. When sun-dried tomatoes are soft enough, drain and chop them (fine) and add to sauce. Bring sauce to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in basil, remove from heat and let cool.

Assembling the lasagnes:

1. Combine all filling ingredients except the 4 cheese blend in a medium bowl and mix well.  Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF (skip this step if making freezer lasagnes).
   Spoon some of sauce over bottom of dish.
3. Arrange noodles over sauce and layer as follows: sauce, noodles, cheese filling, 4 cheese blend, noodles, sauce, cheese filling, 4 cheese blend, noodles, sauce, 4 cheese blend.
4. If making a freezer batch, as I often do, cover with tinfoil and place in the freezer.
5. If you’re cooking it right away, cover lasagne loosely with tinfoil  and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is browned. Let lasagne stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I buy 2 of the 3 packs of 8x8” aluminum pans for this.  Store flat in the freezer until frozen, and then stack. 

Makes 6 8x8” lasagnes.