Vegan Spinach and Portabella Lasagna

So you might have noticed I've been trying out some vegan recipes lately. I just recently found a bio (translate organic) supermarket in my area (dont know how i missed it before really) and have discovered things I was missing like tempeh, seitan, tofu varieties, alfalfa sprouts, and new to my list is soy creme fraiche. With my newly found creme fraiche and a package of no boil spinach lasagna noodles I decided to go about this lasagna thing in a less traditional way and cut out the meat and cheese.




Now I know what you're thinking. What is that pile of slop? Food is by far one of the most important things to me but honestly Im more interested in eating it than making it look pretty. I've gotten more and more interested in food photography but when it comes to photographing my own food, I just cant spend 45 minutes making this lasagna look amazing. It'll get cold!

Vegan Lasagna
16 oz chopped spinach (if fresh blanch first, if frozen, thaw and squeeze out extra water)
several palm sized portabellas, cleaned and sliced
1 package firm tofu
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup soy creme fraiche (you can use soy milk if you want)
2 minced garlic cloves
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp minced fresh basil (20 leaves or so)
1 tsp salt
4-6 cups of your favorite tomato sauce

1. Preaheat the oven to 350F
2. Cook the noodles according to the package or get smart and get the "no boil" kind. Wha? I know.
3. Place all the ingredients except for the mushrooms, tomato sauce, noodles, and spinach in a blender and blend until you have a mixture that resembles ricotta.
4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the spinach.
5. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Then start layering. Noodles, ricotta, mushrooms, tomato sauce. Repeat. Top it all with tomato sauce. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve it with crusty bread drizzled in olive oil, popped in the oven for 15 minutes or until the olive oil is bubbly.

Happy eating!