Margaret Hirsch’s Vegan Rainbow Lasagne

Margaret Hirsch kindly shared with us this recipe for a delicious, decadent (and beautiful!) Vegan Rainbow Lasagne. Healthy, nutritious and a delight to look at!

 

Ingredients

 

Pumpkin layer

o    1 small brown onion, chopped roughly

o    3 cloves garlic, skin removed but kept whole

o    700g pumpkin (butternut or kent variety), peeled and cut into 3 cm cubes

o    1 tbsp sage

o    1 tbsp rosemary

o    Drizzle of olive oil, as needed

 

Beetroot layer

o    1 medium red onion, chopped roughly

o    1 medium beetroot, peeled and cut into 3 cm cubes

o    Drizzle of olive oil, as needed

 

‘Ricotta’ kale layer

o    1 small brown onion, diced

o    3 cloves garlic, skin removed but kept whole

o    2 cups (100g) kale leaves

o    600g firm tofu

o    1/4 cup nutritional yeast

o    1/4 cup plant-based milk, such as almond, soy or coconut, as needed

o    Drizzle of olive oil, as needed

 

Tomato sauce (or use 850g of store-bought pasta sauce)

o    1 small brown onion, diced

o    2 cans diced tomatoes

o    Generous dash of oregano

o    Pinch of any good quality salt, as needed

 

Vegan bechamel sauce

o    2/3 cup plant-based milk, such as almond, soy or coconut, plus more if needed

o    1/3 cup plain or all-purpose flour, or flour of choice

o    1/2 cup vegan cheese, grated or chopped roughly

o    1/4 cup nutritional yeast

o    Pinch of any good quality salt

 

To assemble

o    10 pieces (250g) lasagne sheets, uncooked

 

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• To make the pumpkin layer: Add all ingredients to a baking tray and toss until combined. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the pumpkin, onion and garlic are tender. When slightly cooled, add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth and add water if the mixture is too thick. Set aside.
• To make the beetroot layer (repeat step 2 but for the beetroot ingredients): Add all ingredients to a baking tray and toss until combined. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until the beetroot and onion are tender. When slightly cooled, add all ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth and add water if the mixture is too thick. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, to make the ‘ricotta’ kale layer: Saute the onion in a large saucepan with a drizzle of oil. When it is translucent, add the garlic and kale. Cook until the garlic is aromatic and kale is wilted. Add all the saucepan ingredients and remaining ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth and scrape down the sides if necessary. Add more milk if the food processor is struggling. Set aside.
• To make the tomato sauce: Saute the onion in a large saucepan with a drizzle of oil. When it is translucent, add diced tomatoes, oregano and salt. Simmer until the mixture is thick and jam-like. Set aside.
• To make the bechamel sauce: Add all ingredients to a small pot on high heat and whisk for 5 – 10 minutes. There should not be any lumps of flour or cheese and the mixture should be a custard-like consistency. Set aside.
• To assemble: In a deep casserole dish, layer all the fillings and lasagne sheets as desired. My dish was about 28 x 15cm. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately or store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

There are a few shortcuts you can take to reduce your time in the kitchen:

• Bake the pumpkin and beetroot in the oven at the same time (steps 2 & 3 in the recipe).
• Saute the onions and garlic for the ricotta and tomato layers in one pan. Divide it into two when you need to add the kale for the ricotta layer and tomatoes for the tomato layer (steps 4 & 5).
• Make the ricotta layer while the pumpkin and beetroot are baking. Also, since this is one of the lighter coloured layers, you won’t have to wash your food processor afterwards (step 4).
• Skip the whole tomato sauce process and use store-bought tomato pasta sauce (step 5).
• Make the bechamel layer on the stovetop while the pumpkin and beetroot are baking (step 6).

 

How to layer the lasagne:

• Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the base of the casserole dish.
• Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
• Spread all the pumpkin filling on the lasagne sheets.
• Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
• Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the lasagne sheets.
• Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
• Spread the ‘ricotta’ kale filling on the lasagne sheets.
• Spread a little of the bechamel sauce on top.
• Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
• Spread the beetroot filling on the lasagne sheets.
• Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top
• Spread the remaining tomato sauce on top.
• Spread the remaining bechamel sauce on top.