Meatless Lasagna

This lasagna will surprise the whole family. Your kids (or spouse) will never know that there’s a whole head of cauliflower in it, and the walnuts work so well that no one will miss the meat. The red sauce has a sweetness, and the crispy top adds some variety to the texture. While it’s baking, toss up a green salad or cook some other veggies (or both) to go on the side, and you'll have a satisfying and healthy family dinner.

Meatless Lasagna

Red Sauce

1 onion

1.5 cups walnuts

2 cloves garlic

2 large cans tomatoes

2 teaspoons basil

2 teaspoons oregano

tiny pinch salt

several grinds of pepper

splash of balsamic vinegar (about 1-1.5 tablespoons)

Olive oil

1. Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat

2. Finely chop walnuts and add to oil

3. Finely dice onion and add to pan with walnuts and sweat

4. Finely chop garlic cloves and add to pan

5. Blend tomatoes (or leave chunky) and add to pan. This will stop the cooking of the other ingredients so make sure that they are sufficiently softened before adding tomatoes

6. Season with basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and balsamic and allow to simmer until ready to assemble lasagna

White Sauce

1 head cauliflower

1 leek

1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese

1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil

2. Chop the cauliflower into chunks (or use frozen) and add to boiling water

3. While the cauliflower is boiling, wash a chop the leek and sweat on a medium low heat until soft

4. Cover and allow to boil for about 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft when pierced

5. Once the cauliflower and leeks are soft, transfer both to a food processor along with .5-1 cup of the water that the cauliflower was boiled in. Add the water a little at a time just until there’s enough for the cauliflower to mix and turn into the consistency of a thick sauce.

6. Add cheese and mix until combined

7. Grate in pepper to taste

Lasagna

A little more than 1 package lasagna noodles (the kind that don’t need to be pre-cooked)

1.5-2 cups cheese (mixture of cheddar and mozzarella)

1. Assemble lasagna in dish by first putting down a thin layer of sauce

2. Add noodles, breaking them to make cutting the lasagna easier later

3. Add a layer of white sauce

4. Add a layer of red sauce

5. Add another layer of noodles

6. Add one more layer of each and then top with cheese to cover the last layer of noodles

7. Bake at 375° for about 20-25 minutes

#Dinner #Vegetarian