DESCRIPTION

I may be trite, predictable and traditionalist, but lasagna is MY MOST FAVOURETE DISH. I make them not only on special occasions, such as at a birthday party, or a romantic dinner (my guy doesn’t like starred restaurant portions!), but also on Sundays, when I have a little extra time to devote next to the stove.
The first question that might arise to the curious would be: how do I make a vegan ragout? Vegetable ragout is not a mirage! It is well established and an integral part of everyday vegan gastronomy. Therefore, no wizardry is needed to prepare a delicious, rich vegetable ragout that is very reminiscent of meat ragout.
There are several ways to make it, but for this recipe I chose to start with dehydrated soy. It is now easily found in most well-stocked hypermarkets, usually in the plant food or celiac food aisle, or in organic markets.It has an inexpensive cost.
Let’s go into the details.Dehydrated soy comes in the form of chunks, or chopped or curls. I chose the chopped one because that is the format that is needed in this recipe.
The soybean chop needs to be hydrated, then soaked in warm water for 20 minutes until it doubles in volume.Soy, although demonized by many, is actually very good for the health of the body and provides a considerable amount of protein. Its use in cooking in recent years has been increasing and numerous products made from it, starting with tofu.
Once the soybean is hydrated, it should be cooked. First, a classic sauté of onion and garlic is made in a pan with a round of oil in which to flavor the mince, and then tomato puree is added. The mince will take on a rich flavor and its texture will be very similar to that of meat. Pappardelle also come out very well with this ragout, and I challenge any skeptic to despise or, even, recognize the meat one from the vegetable one, so similar are they!
Once the stir-fry is ready, the mince is poured in and left to flavor and brown. It must almost toast to reach a firmer, more elastic consistency. Only when it has met these two requirements can the tomato puree be added. And then, as with any self-respecting ragout, you let it cook on a low flame for 20 minutes, without letting it dry out too much.
There is also a second question that may arise to the curious: how do I make vegetable béchamel?
Vegetable béchamel can also be made quickly and easily. An unsweetened vegetable drink is used, such as soy, or oat, cashew, or almond milk.The important thing is that it should be a vegetable milk with a fat content of more than 7 percent, so that it can make a full-bodied bechamel. Handmade almond or cashew milk is also fine; in fact, it is better than store-bought equivalents because it is healthier.
Well, how to make it? In a steel saucepan, extra virgin olive oil is heated, the flour is added, and everything is stirred with a whisk to make a creamy mixture. Vegetable drink is combined with this to achieve a creamy consistency. Of course unfailing nutmeg, pepper and a pinch of salt.
For the pasta, I organize alternately: if I have time I make it by hand, if not I buy dry pasta sheets, which must be blanched in boiling water before composing the lasagna. Composing the lasagna means proceeding in layers in the dish, where the first one on the bottom is the meat sauce, then the seared pasta, the béchamel sauce, and so on until the ingredients are exhausted. Best if the last layer is of bechamel sauce, so that it forms a light and delicious crust in the oven.
And here’s how the all-vegetable, super creamy lasagna takes shape that will delight the taste buds of every one of your guests!Let’s now see below in detail ingredients, amounts and procedure.

PROCEDURE

1. We start by soaking the soybean mince in warm water for 15-20 minutes, until it has doubled in volume.
2. Meanwhile, we peel the carrot, hull the celery and cut into very small chunks. We also chop the onion and chop the garlic cloves with a knife.
3. In a nonstick frying pan, pour a round of extra virgin olive oil and add the vegetables as soon as it is hot. Let them fry over medium heat until they wilt.
4. Meanwhile, the mince will be ready and you need to drain it. Let’s transfer it to the pan and brown it well. It should become a little darker and take on a firmer, more elastic consistency. It will look just like chopped meat at first glance. Add salt (which, if desired, can be substituted for soy sauce, which offers a brown tint to the mince). Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Now we need to pour in the tomato puree and let it cook on a low flame for about 20 minutes, without over-tightening the sauce.
6. We now put a pot of salted water to boil.
7. Meanwhile, let’s devote ourselves to preparing the béchamel sauce. In a steel pot, we pour the extra virgin olive oil and heat it over a low flame. We add the flour and stir with a whisk to make a creamy mixture. We pour in the vegetable drink and stir again to mix well.We add the nutmeg, pepper and fine salt.We cook until the béchamel has taken on a thicker consistency.
8. Now let’s boil some salted water in a pot.
9. As soon as the sauce is ready, we turn off the heat and prepare an oven dish (roughly 25×20 cm in size) next to us.
10. Let’s start composing the lasagna. We pour with a ladle a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the dish. It must be spread evenly
11. As soon as the water for the pasta boils, transfer the sheets one at a time and cook them until they become a little softer. Their baking will go on in the oven. We lay a layer of pasta sheets on top of the ragout layer and then cover it with two ladles of béchamel sauce.
12. Meanwhile, we preheat the oven to 190 degrees static.
13. We continue to compose the lasagna until we run out of ingredients. We finish composing it with the béchamel sauce as the last top layer.
14. Bake for 30 minutes.
15. Before making portions, we wait for the lasagna to cool a bit, otherwise it is too soft to make neat slices.

NOTE

You can store lasagna in a closed container with a cap for about 3 days. They can be frozen.
Author: Stella Colonna
Source : Vegabulous