Lasagn-yum

On Monday (technically Labor Day, but we didn't really 'celebrate') we decided to make lasagne (lasagna?) with spinach, mushrooms, and tofu. We had the tofu already, but went to the store to buy noodles, tomato sauce, spinach, and mushrooms. The cashier--who was working on Labor Day, mind you--recognized our ingredients, and asked, "You guys making spinach lasagne?" ...how did he know! We also bought wine and some frozen juices, which he suggested we mix together. Not such a bad idea.

Lasagne we did make, and I'll share the (very easy) recipe with you!

Out of the oven.

Ingredients

1 block extra-firm tofu

3 tbs nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp sage

1/2 tsp lemon juice

24 oz jar of tomato sauce (though we suggest using about 8-12oz more than this, we added some water)

9 lasagne noodles (we used oven ready [eggless], otherwise prepare according to instructions)

2 cups shredded fresh spinach, or 1 cup frozen & thawed

about 8 small mushrooms, halved and sliced

about 3/4 to 1 cup vegan cheese shreds (we used Go Veggie! Mexican style)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375F (make sure this is consistent with your noodle package, or follow their instructions for baking after assembly.) Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Crumble the tofu into a bowl with your fingers or using a fork. Mix in nutritional yeast, salt, basil, sage, and lemon juice. 

Tofu mixture

Slice the spinach into strips, and slice the mushrooms as directed. Pour about 1 cup of tomato sauce into the pan, and top with three lasagne noodles. Cover the noodles with half the tofu mixture, then layer the spinach and mushrooms on top. Pour about 1/3 the remaining sauce onto the spinach/tofu (this is where you might need to add water to the sauce). Add another layer of noodles, tofu, and spinach/mushrooms, then add another 1/3 of the sauce, three more noodles, and the rest of the sauce. We used some fresh tomatoes on the top as well. 

Before the last layer of noodles

Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven to bake for 50m (check after 40m and make sure there's enough liquid to cook noodles to tenderness.) Check if noodles are tender; if so, remove the foil and add the cheese over the top. Bake for another ten minutes. Remove the dish from heat after the ten minutes are up, and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. 

Final product!

We enjoyed this with some pinot grigio and a baguette. I bet it tasted even better than our cashier thought it would!