Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Amazing Vegan Butternut-Polenta Lasagna

This is a remix of this recipe, made almost entirely with freezer staples and a few assists from the lovely folks at Gateway Market.

Vegan lasagna fixins

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
8 oz. frozen chopped greens
8 oz. sliced mushrooms

Prep: heat the olive oil. Add the onion, mushrooms and greens and saute for 5-10 minutes, or until wilty and darkened.

2 cups pureed butternut squash
1-2 dashes nutmeg

Prep: mix squash puree with nutmeg and 2-3 Tbsp of the vegan white sauce (recipe follows).

1 block silken tofu
1 4-oz. container vegan pesto (or sachet of dry pesto mix)

Prep: Mash tofu. Add pesto. Stir.

1 block polenta
marinara sauce

Prep: Slice the polenta very thinly (these will be your 'noodles.' You can, of course, use no-boil lasagna noodles as well).

Vegan white sauce:
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1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 tsp veggie bouillon powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Prep: Blend.

Assemble the lasagna. I generally like to keep the reddish-orange stuff together and the greenish stuff together, so you might do something like this:

polenta 'noodles'
marinara
squash puree
polenta 'noodles'
tofu-pesto mash
greens & mushrooms
white sauce

Repeat this pattern as often as necessary. Top with marinara and a drizzle of the white sauce. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.