Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach
This lasagna, adapted from Isa Chandra’s “Appetite for Reduction” is the best thing in the world-and I’ve NEVER said that :). But for sers, it’s delicious. It’s my Rocket Queen, My Michelle, my Night Train, if you will.
The recipe is designed for an 8 inch pan. That doesn’t make sense to me. This is a bit time consuming (or so my mom said :)) and that pan doesn’t provide enough of a return. So we doubled the recipe and used a traditional lasagna pan. It was PACKED to the brim but super worth it. I cut it into squares and froze it for future meals. It’s perfect for non cookers like moi. It is seriously FRICKIN AMAZEBALLS.
Oh, and one other thing. My chef said to use a jar of sauce if you want if you don’t have the time or inclination to make it from scratch. The recipes does use a lot of garlic and that is part of the reason it’s so good, so if you do go the jar route, I’d add some garlic to it.
Here goes. Remember, this is the recipe as it is in book, calling for an 8 inch pan.
- For the Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta:
- 1 medium-size head cauliflower (11/2 to 2 pounds), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pounds extra-firm tofu
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
- For the Red Sauce:
- 1 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes with basil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- To Assemble:
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken in half, cooked in salted water
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
First, roast the cauliflower:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper so the cauliflower won’t stick. Break it up into little pieces and lay it on the sheet. Drizzle oil over it and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Toss it around a bit. Spread it out on pan so it seems pretty even and bake for 10 mins. Then flip the shiz and bake for another 15-20.
While that is going on, crumble the tofu into a mixing bowl. Mash it around with your hands so it takes on the consistency of ricotta. Add the yeast, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Use a fork and mix it all up real nice like.
Once the cauliflower is done, dump it in the bowl with the tofu mixture. Mash it all together REALLY well. Seriously, mash that crap.
Now onto the sauce. Mix all that stuff together. Or, to save time, buy a jar of your favorite stuff.
Now preheat the oven to 350 F. Pour a thin layer of red sauce on the bottom. Then the noodles. Then some cauliflower ricotta. Layer with 3/4 cup of spinach leaves. Add more sauce, repeat, repeat, repeat. For the toppest most layer, don’t put spinach. Just leave it at the ricotta.
Now bake it for 40 min. Badda bing. DONE.
Like I said, an 8 inch pan seemed kind of small so my chef doubled everything and used a traditional lasagna pan. It weighed about 10 lbs but it was so worth it. When in doubt, go large.
Cheers, to a meal worth dying for!
