Home Made: A New Take on Lasagna, and It’s Vegan, Too
This dish explores a whole new take on lasagna. It’s a rustic dish that meets vegan requirements as well. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to prepare–and then there’s a bit of baking time, too, but it’s beyond worth your efforts. It’s a culinary masterpiece and a delight your taste buds will beg to have more often.
It must be said that this isn’t an original recipe but one that has been tried and loved–and then loved some more. It comes from a site called CheekyKitchen.com, which is also well worth your exploring time.
You will need the following ingredients to make this amazing take on lasagna. It will no doubt change how you’ve ever perceived the tasty Italian dish.
- 5 Tbs olive oil + 1/4 cup for drizzling
- 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (28-oz) jars Muir Glen Crushed Tomatoes with Basil, mixed
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp Italian Herb mix
- 2 pounds of new spinach, cleaned and hacked
- •12 cuts of day-old natural sourdough bread
- 12 slices of day-old rustic sourdough bread
- Olive oil nonstick cooking spray
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced very thin
- 1/4 balsamic vinegar
The crushed tomatoes might not be available in your regular grocery store but check out Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s and you’re sure to find them.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a huge pot, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to medium then, at that point, throw in around one-fourth of the garlic cloves. Cook for 2-3 minutes in hot oil, stirring constantly to keep the garlic from burning. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and Italian Herb Mix and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Place eggplant slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then slide the pan into the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until eggplant is tender and slightly golden brown around the edges.
While eggplant roasts, spray each slice of sourdough bread on both sides with olive oil spray Cook in a warmed barbecue dish until hot and brilliant brown on the two sides.
In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, sweat the garlic in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes, then add the spinach and cook until wilted.
To assemble: Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a large casserole pan Layer with bread until the dish is covered. Add half of the tomato sauce mixture on top Layer the entirety of the eggplant and spinach on top of the sauce. Add a second layer of bread over the spinach layer. Top with the remaining sauce, making sure that you’ve covered the bread entirely with the sauce.
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place cut tomatoes across the highest point of the breadcrumbs.
Bake your lasagna in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes, sprinkle fresh basil.
Yum! You will never think of lasagna the same way again.