As a busy student, I always find it hard to prepare myself really nice meals. Even though I love cooking, I still get lazy, and as a vegetarian, it’s even more difficult. Lately, I’m really trying to be healthier as well, making sure to eat a lot of vegetables, enough protein, and not too much fat. A few weeks ago, I saw a YouTube video of an Italian woman in her 90s making a homemade, really authentic and raw Lasagna. From that moment it was clear to me that my destiny (for that day) was to make the perfect vegan lasagna. Lucky for you, I joined the publishing team and now you can enjoy this recipe as well. A creamy, protein-packed, low carb, vegan Italian LASAGNA!
Ingredients (2 servings in a small lasagna tray, about 14x10)
• Vegan cashew cream cheese – recipe link. If you want to skip this, it’s also possible but I highly recommend it! It’s very easy to make and much better than the supermarket vegan cheeses. Otherwise, buy and use a vegan/normal cheese such as mozzarella or gouda.
• Vegan cashew parmesan cheese – recipe link. Literally, THREE MINUTES to make, SO EASY AND YUM, but instead you can also use plain nutritious yeast flakes or normal grated parmesan cheese.
• Half a jar of supermarket pasta tomato sauce
• 125 grams of lentils (either dry and cooked or from a can)
• 125 grams white beans in tomato sauce from a can
• 5 lasagna sheets
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion and 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt, pepper, and oregano – to taste
Method
1. Start by cooking some water for the lasagna sheets in a pot and warm your oven to 180 degrees.
2. When the water is boiling, add the sheets for about 5 minutes till they are a bit soft. They don’t have to be cooked all the way, about half cooked. I recommend putting them one by one or two at a time, otherwise, they stick to each other. When you take them out, put them on a plate, not touching each other. You can also grease them with a bit of olive oil.
3. In a frying pan warm up the olive oil and add the onion and garlic. Once they are tanned, you can add the lentils and beans. Stir everything together till hot and then add the tomato sauce.
4. Now it’s time to taste and spice. For me, salt, pepper, and oregano are enough, but you can play with it. You can also add more tomato sauce if needed. Find the right balance and let’s start building the lasagna.
5. Start by putting a very thin layer of the lentil and beans mix (from now on let’s just call it sauce) on the bottom of the tray so the pasta doesn’t stick. Now it’s time for the layers - first a sheet of lasagna, then the sauce and then both kinds of cheese. Repeat two or three more times depending on the size of your tray. End with one more lasagna sheet, a thin layer of sauce, and a generous amount of cheese.
6. Into the oven for 30-45 minutes. This varies depending on your oven, mine is pretty weak so it took 45 minutes and I didn’t cover it. If your oven is really strong, first bake the tray with tin foil for 20 minutes and then 15-20 more minutes without foil. When the lasagna is tanned, a bit brown and bubbly – it’s ready.
7. Very important step - rest. Dishes like lasagna need to rest and stabilize, it will pay off in taste. Turn off the oven, open the door a little, and just let the lasagna rest there for at least 20 minutes up to a full hour.
8. Eat until you’re about to explode.
