10/08/2017

Aubergine, Basil & Tofu Ricotta ‘Lasagne’

By: Melinda Yates

Ingredients

  • Aubergine 'Lasagne' Sheets
    • 2 large aubergines
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • The Tomato & Basil Sauce
    • 2 tins chopped tomatoes
    • 1 large onion, diced
    • 1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
    • 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
    • pinch of black pepper
  • The Tofu Ricotta
    • 450g firm tofu
    • Juice of 1/2 lemon
    • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (Engevita)
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 75 mins
  • Not too hard
  • 4
  • vegan-icon
    Vegan

 

This aubergine and tofu ‘ricotta’ dish was created when I was craving lasagne but didn’t want all the wheat and calories of pasta sheets! It turned out so well, I now make it for friends quite often. It’s such a great comfort food for everyone because although it is reminiscent of lasagne, it is vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free and uses no oil. It’s super healthy, packed with protein and exploding with intense flavours, even though there aren’t too many ingredients.

To Make the Tomato & Basil Sauce

  1. Pour the 2 tins of tomatoes into a medium saucepan with the diced onion, coconut sugar, salt and pepper and bring to a gentle boil
  2. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 mins until the onion has softened, stirring occasionally
  3. Stir in the tomato puree and basil and then turn off the heat

To Make the Aubergine Sheets (do this while the sauce is simmering)

  1. Cut the aubergine into 1/4 inch thick slices and lay onto a few sheets of paper towel or a clean tea towel
  2. Sprinkle the sea salt over the slices and allow to rest for 10 mins
  3. After this resting time, place more paper towel or another clean tea towel on top of the aubergine slices and press down on them soaking up any liquid that has come out
  4. Pat the slices so they are as dry as possible and set aside until later

To Make the Tofu Ricotta (do this while the aubergine sheets are resting and the sauce is simmering)

  1. Crumble the tofu in a large bowl and add the nutritional yeast, sea salt, turmeric and lemon juice.
  2. Stir well, combining the ingredients to make the ricotta (you can taste it here and add a little more salt and/or lemon juice to your own liking)

Putting it all together

  1. Preheat your oven to 230 degrees Celsius
  2. In a baking dish, start stacking your lasagne with the first layer being the tomato sauce (This recipe is enough for 4 layers in an average sized baking dish, so use a quarter of each component when layering)
  3. Add the aubergine slices so that they form the second layer
  4. Top with the tofu ricotta and start again! The very top layer of your lasagne will be the tofu which will brown and go nice and crispy when it’s baked!
  5. Bake in the oven for about 45 mins, then allow to rest for about 10 mins before serving

When serving this, its nice to top with a couple of basil leaves and a simple side of fresh rocket dressed with a bit of lemon juice.

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