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Green Fed

“a blog about a girl who decided eating plants was the way to go”

July 25, 2011 Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Would you ever eat lasagna with TOFU in it?  Yah, me neither… that is until I made this recipe!  It’s seriously fabulous, and if I didn’t make it, I would have NO idea that tofu stood in place of  the ricotta.  Be brave, try it!  You’ll be glad you did!

To start out, get your Tofu Ricotta ready:

2 lb extra-firm tofu
4 tsp lemon juice
2 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
pinch ground black pepper
15-20 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast

Directions
1.in large bowl, mush up tofu with hands, until crumbly

2.add lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, basil

3.mush with hands again until reach consistency of ricotta cheese, 2 – 5 mins

4.add olive oil, stir with fork

5.add nutritional yeast and mix everything together with a fork

6.refrigerate until ready to use

Next, if you love Parmesean Cheese like I do, make this Almesan to replace it:

1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp lemon zest

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor and pulse until everything turns to tiny crumbles.  Set aside.

Now, onto the big recipe for the Lasagna:

2 (28-oz) jars/cans of marinara sauce of your choice (my favorite is Trader Joe’s)- sometimes I feel ambitious and make my own, but I love TJ’s just the same!

1-pound package lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions (if not using no-boil, which are my favorite)

2 pounds spinach or a mix of other greens

1lb mushrooms

2 Tbsp olive oil (I only used 1Tbsp)

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Have ready a 9×13 inch pan, lined with a double layer of foil.  Wash the spinach well, and place in a steamer basket in a large pot.  Cover and steam for 8-10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and a deep green.  Uncover and remove from heat, allowing the spinach to cool to the touch.  Squeeze handfuls of the spinach to remove the excess water and chop coarsely.  Toss with the olive oil and season with a little salt & pepper.

Thinly slice mushrooms and sautee them in a little bit of olive oil until all of the moisture has evaporated and they are browned and tender.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Add the cooled spinach and mushrooms to the tofu ricotta mixture.

Ladle about 1/2 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of the pan and layer with 5-6 noodles.  Add about half of the tofu ricotta mixture, and about 1/3 of the sauce.  Add another layer of noodles (4-5), the rest of the ricotta and another 1/3 of the sauce.  Top with the remaining noodles, then top the noodles with remaining sauce.

If using uncooked noodles, gently pour 1 cup of warm water over the top of the assembled lasagna, being careful to pour into the gaps between the noodles and edges of the pan as well.  Skip this step if using cooked noodles.

If you wish, generously sprinkle the Almesan on top before baking.

Tightly cover foil over the top of the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes in preheated oven, until the pasta is tender.  Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes until edges of the noodles are slightly browned and the sauce is bubbling.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.  Best if served with additional marinara sauce.