New Recipe

"New Year's Lasagna"
Vegan, Wheat free, Gluten free, and Dairy free Lasagna

Sicilians eat Lasagna on the New Year for good luck. Supposedly, any other baked pasta dish won't do. Manicotti will bring bad luck and so will Canneloni. Not wanting to risk it, I stuck with the traditional here, and tried my hand at Tofu Spinach Lasagna. This lasagna is vegan, gluten free, and free of all major allergens EXCEPT SOY. It is Dairy free, Wheat free, Egg free, Peanut free, Tree nut free, and of course Shellfish free and Fish free. My son Lennon no longer has a soy allergy, so we've added it back into our diet. If you can't eat soy, try the recipe for Lasagna with Eggplant, Portobello Mushrooms, and Fresh Tomatoes in The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook.

2 Tbsp. dairy free vegetable shortening (I like Earth Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread)
2 Tbsp. brown rice flour
1 cup soy milk
3 cups silken tofu (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 bag pre-washed baby spinach (about 1/2 cup steamed)
9 slices Tofutti "Mozzerella"
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 box De Boles Rice Lasagna (No Boiling - Oven Ready)
2 cups tomato sauce (try with The Lady from Naples Red Sauce in my cookbook, or a good store bought Marinara if pressed for time)

Make a cream sauce by melting the vegetable shorting in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring about 3 minutes. Add the soy milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumping. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often until it's thickened up to a nice creamy constistancy. Remove from heat. Steam spinach, drain thoroughly, and chop. You want about a 1/2 cup. Set aside. Take 6 of the Tofutti "Mozzerella" slices and dice them up. Crumble silken tofu into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the cream sauce, the diced Tofutti "Mozzerella", the chopped spinach, nutmeg, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Blend well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Use a 7 x 11 baking pan. Put a little olive oil in the bottom. Start with one layer of lasagna noodles. Cover with tofu/spinach mixture. Top with a little bit of the cream sauce and top that with tomato sauce. Do another layer of noodles, topped with tofu/spinach, cream sauce, and tomato sauce. Do a final layer of noodles, topped with remaining cream sauce and tomato sauce. Take final 3 slices of Tofutti "Mozzerella" and tear them into small pieces over the top. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for several hours before eating. If you like, serve with a little extra tomato sauce. Serves 4-6.