Vegan Spinach and ricotta lasagna with "meat balls".
I make the 'meat' balls using 1 block of Impossible ground and 1 package of Presidents Choice plant based sweet sausage with the 'skins' removed.
Mix the sausage and the ground together with a handfull of crushed crackers, onion powder, chives, parsley and salt and pepper. Roll into balls and place in a pot of your favourite vegan pasta sauce, to which I will usually add some extra spice, mushrooms and green onion, gently stir them occasionally letting them simmer and cook while you prepare the lasagna. I have tried other plant based grounds and other plant based sausage or I will just use what plant based burgers I might have in the freezer and defrost them to use them as a ground, but the Impossible ground and PC sausage tends to hold together the best while cooking and the flavour combination is very good.
Let's Talk Tofu
Think of Tofu as an ingredient, much like flour or salt or sugar. You could it on it's own but you probably wouldn't. You combine it with other ingredients to make something much more tasty, like a cake, right? Tofu is packed with protein and nutrition and is very versatile and can be used in so many recipes from cake and icings, to plant based cheeses. Marinated and/or breaded and grilled on the barbecue or fried for a tasty bacon or meat substitute.
Tofu comes in many different brands, flavours and textures. And again, just like any product you will find some you like and some you don't. It is a matter of expermenting to find the ones you like. Silken tofu is most often used in deserts and can be used as an egg substitute. Then there is firm to extra firm which can be used in making cheeses, and tofu scrambles. I always have several blocks of extra firm tofu in the fridge because I use it to make my ricotta cheese and I have a recipe for Eggless egg salad that I make often that I will share later.
I have a few favourite plant based products that I make surebI always have because I use it often. One of my very favourites is Earth Island vegenaise. It is really a mayo substitute, but this stuff is so good and creamy that I put it in everything. My daughter in law used to joke that I really should take out shares in the company. I use it for everything from chip dip, a sour cream substitute with baked potatoes and put a spoonful in mashed potatoes instead of plant based milk to make them creamy and smooth. So getting back to making tofu ricotta.
In my food processor, I crumble one block of extra firm tofu, one heaping spoon of Vegenaise, approximately 1 tsp of onion powder, some chives, parsley, a dash of garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Occasionally I will also add about a table spoon of Nutritional Yeast, if I have some in the cupboard, to give it a more cheesy flavour.
Putting the lasagna together, I put some of the sauce from the meat balls on the bottom of the lasagna pan and start layering it from there. Oven ready lasagna noodles on the bottom, and more sauce and then a layer of baby spinach and chopped crimini mushrooms. I preffer crimini mushrooms because they stay firmer and shrink less during cooking. Then I dollop the ricotta on by small spoon fulls,leaving enough for a second layer, and a light sprinkle of grated vegan cheese and start the process again for a second layer. With the last of the noodles on top and a final layer of sauce and vegan cheese.
Serve with salad and fresh dinner rolls. It will taste better than anything you could get at any restaurant. There are so many new plant based products all the time. Helmans and Presidents Choice have just added plant based dressings. In the picture, we are using Helmans Plant Based Caesar dressing. I have to say that we were not disappointed. It is so good. You will never know the difference. Enjoy!