Root Veg Ricotta Lasagne Recipes

ROOT VEG & RICOTTA LASAGNE

Steps:

• Mix together the vegetables, thyme, passata, tomato purée and plenty of seasoning. In another bowl, mix the ricotta, crème fraîche, eggs and all but 2 tbsp of the Parmesan until smooth.
• Assemble the lasagne by putting half the vegetable mixture into the base of a lightly oiled 2-litre gratin dish, followed by a layer of lasagne (broken to fit the dish), then half the ricotta mixture. Repeat the process, finishing with a layer of ricotta mixture and the remaining Parmesan sprinkled over. Wrap with cling film and freeze for up to 3 months.
• To cook from frozen, heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Remove the cling film, cover with foil and put in the middle of the oven for 1 hr. Then increase temperature to 200C/180C/gas 6, remove the foil and cook for another 35-45 mins until golden on top.

VEGAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste, Italian seasoning and red-pepper flakes, then stir in the diced and crushed tomatoes and sugar, if using. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. Add salt to taste. You can leave the sauce textured or purée it with an immersion blender, depending on your preference. Remove from heat.
• Make the ricotta: Add the cashews and garlic to a food processor and process until the cashews form a coarse meal, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the processor, then turn the processor back on. While it's running, drizzle in 1/2 cup water and the lemon juice. Process until completely smooth and the texture resembles hummus, another 2 minutes.
• Crumble the block of tofu into the processor, add the nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper. Continue processing until the mixture is smooth and resembles ricotta, stopping to scrape the sides of the processor as needed, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
• Assemble the lasagna: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Bring a large, salted pot of water to boil. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions, until they're al dente. (Skip this step if you're using no-boil noodles.)
• Layer 1 scant cup marinara sauce at the bottom of your lasagna dish. Cover it with a layer of 3 to 4 lasagna noodles. Cover the noodles with half the vegan ricotta. Cover the ricotta with another layer of noodles, followed by another cup of marinara and the remaining ricotta. Add a final layer of noodles and the remaining marinara sauce. Bake the lasagna for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the marinara on top is dark and the lasagna is bubbling. Top with torn basil leaves, if desired, and serve.

ROAST VEGETABLE LASAGNE WITH SPINACH AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Place the vegetables in a roasting dish, cover in the olive oil and brown sugar and season well with salt and pepper. Tear the basil over the top of the vegies.
• Roast at 180C for around 45 minutes.
• While the vegetables are roasting, make pasta sauce (if you are using homemade) and spinach/ricotta mix.
• For the spinach and ricotta mix, defrost the spinach in the microwave.
• Mix into the thawed spinach the ricotta, cubed feta and parmesan. Stir thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.
• Layer the lasagne as follows: Pasta sauce on the bottom, then lasagne sheet, ricotta mix, lasagne sheet, vegetables (minus the garlic cloves), lasagne sheet, ricotta mix, lasagne sheet, pasta sauce, cheddar cheese. Finish off with the second amount of parmesan over the top of the lasagne (this helps create a great golden colour and a delicious flavour once it's cooked). I also like to add another dash of cracked pepper to the top for good measure.
• Bake the lasagne at 180C for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
• If you feel so inclined, you can use the roasted cloves of garlic to make garlic butter for homemade garlic bread. Yum!