White Lasagna - Vegan & Gluten Free

I'm a fair weather blogger, obviously. But when I'm here, boy, do I have good things for you! This new lasagna recipe is EPIC. Not long and drawn out as in epic poetry, but rather in the "unforgettable" sense of the word.

We were having people over for dinner, which is kind of stressful when you can't eat wheat, dairy, beef, pork, nightshades, etc. And I'm not one to follow recipes. So, I was totally winging this one. It's a variation on my other vegan lasagna recipe. And it also borrows from an old favorite veggie lasagna recipe. But no cheese and no tomato sauce. I tried another white lasagna a couple months ago, but it featured a white bean bechamel and I really wasn't that impressed. So, I was feeling rather tentative about how this was going to turn out. I offered up a plethora of disclaimers before we dug in. Fortunately, it turned out really wonderful! Unfortunately, I only have crappy photos of the leftovers because I was more worried about eating it than taking pictures of it. But without further adieu:

the four of us cleared out most of it, so I guess it was alright!

White Lasagna

vegan & gluten free
serves 4-8

1 box gluten free lasagna noodles (I used Tinkyada Joy Pasta Organic Brown Rice noodles)
1 batch of Vegan Alfredo Sauce
1 batch of vegan ricotta filling
1 lb fresh or frozen spinach
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic

for vegan "ricotta" filling:
1 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper
water
1/4 c ground golden flaxseed
1 lb frozen broccoli florets, thawed and finely chopped

Note: You can make the Alfredo sauce and ricotta ahead of time, even the day before. They will keep fine in the fridge. 

So, first let's talk about this vegan ricotta. Cashews are an amazing thing. You will find them in many different vegan recipes as a dairy replacement. You can make cashew milk, "cream" sauces, and add texture like in this ricotta substitute.

Put your soaked cashews, garlic, and herbs in the bowl of a food processor and process until it looks grainy. It will sort of look like ricotta already, just drier. Add your lemon juice and a couple tablespoons of water. Pulse a few times to combine. You don't want it to get totally smooth like you would to make cashew butter. Now dump that out into a big bowl. Process your broccoli, if you haven't already chopped it. Combine the two and add some water, or even a little (1/2 cup) non-dairy milk if you'd like, and the flaxseed. Stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Now it should really look like a ricotta filling.

Cook your noodles according to the package, undercooking by just a few minutes. Put them in an ice bath as you prep your other ingredients. 

Saute your onion in olive oil until golden. Add garlic and stir until aromatic. Add your spinach and saute until wilted and/or thawed, depending on whether you used fresh or frozen. Salt to taste.

To assemble the lasagna, coat the bottom of the dish with Alfredo sauce, then layer: 

noodles

ricotta filling

Alfredo sauce

noodles

spinach

Alfredo sauce

noodles

ricotta filling

Alfredo sauce

noodles 

Alfredo sauce (spreading to cover the top of the noodles)

I topped mine with some vegan parmesan, which is simply roasted cashews finely processed with some salt, garlic powder, onion powder, & dried basil and oregano. It made the top look prettier ;)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. The sauce should look bubbly and it should be warm throughout. If you used refrigerated ingredients, you may need to bake longer.