A very veggie lasagna. (Credit: Aly Baalbaky/L'Orient Today)
A good lasagna is layered, not just in its literal composition, but in the components of each and every layer. Each one should hit the fresh herby high notes and the creamy comforting base notes. It should be filling, but not heavy, unctuous but not greasy. This vegan lasagna tries to achieve this, and then some. It’s also a great recipe for those who can’t handle dairy or cheese because it packs all of the creaminess of a normal lasagna without the gut ache from cream.
After vigorous recipe testing, L’Orient Today presents this soulful variation of the traditional lasagna.
Very Veggie Lasagna
Difficulty: Medium
Serves: 8 people
Preparation time: 2.5 hours
Ingredients :
Cashew Cream:
300 grams cashews
500 milliliters of boiling water
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon white pepper
20 milliliters of apple cider vinegar
30g nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt to taste
Tomato Sauce:
7 large ripe tomatoes
10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
15 grams fresh basil, finely chopped
60 milliliters olive oil
½ teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
Chard filling:
20 leaves of chard, stems removed and chopped into ribbons
10 medium-sized mushrooms, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Lasagna layers:
7 medium-sized zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
1 box lasagna noodles (oven-ready)
15 - 20 cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Preparation of the components:
In a large bowl, place your cashews and cover soak them in the boiling water. Let sit for 20-30 minutes until the cashews are softened. Using a blender, blend the cashews with the water until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the apple cider vinegar, nutmeg, white pepper and nutritional yeast. Blend again until the sauce comes together. If it feels too thick, add a splash of water until the mixture is the consistency of a cream sauce. Set aside.
Take a large pot and fill it with water. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, take your tomatoes and using a sharp knife, remove the top core of the tomato and score the bottom with an X. Don’t cut too deeply, just enough to be able to peel the tomato. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water for 5-6 minutes. When they are cool enough to touch, peel off the skin and place them in a large bowl. Once all the tomatoes are peeled, using a food processor or a masher, mash until there are no large chunks remaining. Add the chopped garlic, chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside.
In a large pan, add the olive oil, chopped mushrooms and onions. Cook on high heat until the mushrooms soften and release their juices. Add in the chopped chard and saute for 3-4 minutes, until it begins to wilt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Assembling the lasagna:
Turn the oven on to high heat (200 degrees Celsius). While the oven is heating, assemble the lasagna. Gather all the components and proceed to layer each one into a large, deep oven-safe pan (ceramic or metal).
First, add a ladle or two of tomato sauce, enough to make sure the sauce reaches all the corners. Next, add an even layer of the lasagna noodles. If you have gaps in the bottom of the pan, break one of the lasagna sheets to fill the crevices. Next, add another layer of the tomato sauce, making sure to coat every single noodle. Add ⅓ of the sauteed chard mixture. You can spread it with your hands to ensure each bite has some of the chard. After the chard, add a ladle or two of the cashew sauce, enough to cover. Add the next layer of lasagna noodles, followed by tomato sauce. This time, add a layer of sliced zucchini, followed by the cashew cream.
Repeat with the alternating layers of tomato, chard, cashew cream and noodles, followed by the tomato, zucchini and cashew cream layer. Once you reach the top of the baking pan, cover with one final layer of noodles and finish with a final layer of cream sauce. Top the final layer with rows of cherry tomatoes and zucchini slices. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, making sure that the foil does not touch the top layer of noodles. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the lasagna rest for 30 minutes before serving.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve. Can you say mamma mia?
Swiss chard: A super-leaf
This hearty leaf is a spring powerhouse of nutrients and vitamins. It is native to the Mediterranean, where it is known as seleq. A serving of chard is packed with a terrific dose of vitamin K for bone health and vitamins A and C for your immune system. Chard also has magnesium, copper, manganese and iron. It holds its texture better than spinach when cooked, and is used in several Levantine recipes including mehshi seleq (stuffed chard leaves) and aadas b hamoud (lentils in lemon sauce, with chard stems).