Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower Ricotta & Spinach

Right after deciding to try the vegan lifestyle, Betsy, a friend of mine from work, turned me on to Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

She's the chef behind Veganomicon and Appetite for Reduction.

The thing about her recipes is that they are the kinds of recipes that make you feel like you're totally not eating vegetables - they both fool and satisfy!

I've made her recipe for lasagna several times and, at this point, I now use only her recipe as a guide for the roasted cauliflower ricotta. Her recipe calls for you to layer the noodles and ricotta with black olives and spinach. I usually take out the olives and add other roasted veggies - whatever I have on hand, really.

 For this lasagna, I used roasted eggplant in place of spinach, because that's what I had on hand.

For the roasted cauliflower ricotta, you will need:

1 medium-size head cauliflower chopped into half-inch pieces

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb extra-firm tofu

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup roasted garlic

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First, chop the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 45 minutes (I like to sprinkle it with Italian spices first, but you can leave them out if you prefer). With about 10 to 15 minutes left, add the garlic to your cookie sheet. When done, the cauliflower will be soft and mushy and a beautiful golden color.

Let the cauliflower cool until you can handle it. The original recipe tell you to mix the tofu and cauliflower with your hands, but if you put them into the blender with the garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice, you'll get a consistency more like ricotta.

You'll also need some of my Super Easy Marinara sauce or the tomato sauce of your choice.

To assemble, cover the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish with a thin layer of marinara. On top of that, place a layer of lasagna noodles. I prefer to use the whole wheat variety that you have to pre-cook, but I'm sure you could also use the kind that cook while they bake. Next, add a layer of ricotta, followed by whatever roasted veggies you like OR layer on fresh, uncooked spinach. Repeat with sauce, noodles, ricotta and veggies until you fill the pan. Top off with noodles and sauce and be sure to save a little ricotta for the very top.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is browned. You'll want to let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, if you'd like to keep the roof of your mouth in tact.

Enjoy!