Sunday, August 31, 2014
KALE AND VEGAN SAUSAGE LASAGNA
We have such beautiful kale this year and such alot of it! I'm trying to incorporate it into as many dishes as possible. (Fortunately, we both love it!).
Last night we had our friend Brenda over for dinner and I made a kale lasagne, using up 1 1/2 lbs of fresh kale, and some tofu ricotta and homemade spaghetti sauce that I had in the refrigerator. It was delicious and definitely a keeper! I served it with some lovely roasted beets from my friend Holly, just sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh parsley.
We ended the meal with some tea and organic green grapes-- very satisfying!
BRYANNA’S KALE AND VEGAN SAUSAGE
Serves 6-8
12 whole wheat lasagne noodles OR GF lasagne noodles (not the
“no-cook” type)
About 1 1/2 lbs. fresh
kale (weighed before stripping the leaves
from the stalks), washed and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dark
sesame oil
2 large onions, thinly
sliced
About 12 oz. slightly
spicy vegan sausages, crumbled (I used
Tofurky Italian, but you could use Field Roast Italian or your own homemade)
OR, for a GF or homemade alternative ,
use 2x this
recipe for TVP pepperoni crumbles
4 cloves garlic,
minced
1/2 tsp. red chile flakes
(omit if you sausage is very spicy)
Salt and
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
About 3 cups homemade vegan
plain tomato-y spaghetti sauce or your favourite storebought variety
1 recipe Ricotta
di Soya (Tofu Ricotta) (There’s also
an Almond Ricotta recipe at that link, too, but you’ll need to make about 1 1/2
times that recipe.)
UPDATE: Here's a nut-free vegan ricotta recipe.)
UPDATE: Here's a nut-free vegan ricotta recipe.)
About 1/2 cup vegan parmesan (we like Earth Island or Follow Your Heart vegan parm) or your
favourite parmesan sub
Cook the lasagne noodles
according to the package directions—don’t overcook! Rinse and drain them and lay them out flat on
a baking sheet.
Place the sliced kale
in a large pot. Boil about 1 quart of
water (in an electric kettle, if you have one—it saves energy) and pour it
slowly over the kale, mixing with a long spoon until it is all submerged. Cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes
while you slice the onions, etc. After
10 minutes, drain the kale in a colander, rinse briefly with cold water (until
cool enough to handle), and then squeeze as much water as possible out of the
kale. Fluff it out a bit with your
fingers after squeezing it.
Heat the oils in a
large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the sliced onions and sausage
crumbles. Sauté them, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened and the
sausage browned a bit. Add the garlic
and red chile flakes (if using) and sauté briefly. Add the kale to the pan and sauté
again briefly. Season the mixture to
taste with salt and freshly-ground pepper.
Preheat the oven to
400°F, if you are going to bake immediately after assembling the lasagne.
Oil a 9 x 13” baking pan or dish. Lay 4 of the lasagne
noodles to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread the noodles evenly with 1 cup of
the spaghetti sauce. Add half of the
sausage/kale mixture and spread evenly.
Cover that with half of the ricotta, spreading evenly. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the soy parmesan. Lay 4 more of the lasagne noodles over the
casserole.
Repeat the layering as
before. Cover with the remaining 4
lasagna noodles. Spread evenly with the
remaining 1 cup of spaghetti sauce and sprinkle with the last of the soy parmesan. Cover the pan loosely with foil or baking
parchment.
Bake at 400°F for 40 minutes. Remove the foil or baking parchment and let sit for
about 10 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!
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3 comments:
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical as this was not smothered in some sort of yellow hard "cheese", which is what all the past lasagnes we have made had in common. I almost topped it with your melty cheese sauce. Almost, but so happy we did not.
One bite and we saw the light! :)
This is such a great dish. No one flavor took command, they all played nicely and complemented one another.
The "ricotta" was outstanding.
I used brown rice lasagne noodles and about 3/4 cup of the "parmesan"
The only challenge we had with this meal was self control with the portion size...
Thank you!
I am so delighted that you and yours enjoyed it so much! The "smothered in some sort of yellow hard "cheese"" is really an American-Italian thing-- a dish served only on feast days in Italy for the poor who emigrated to Canada and the US, but in America it was possible to have it every week! In Northern Italy, grated cheese is used sparingly. A lasagne Bolognese traditionally used pasta sheets, Ragu ala Bolognese, Bechamel Sauce and a little parmesan (there's a vegan version in my Italian cookbook).
We made this tonight for dinner. It was great.
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