Lasagna Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare a 9×13 pan by spraying or rubbing with olive oil.

Clean and slice mushrooms.

In a large skillet heat one tablespoon each of olive oil and butter over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms, stirring occasionally and adding more oil and butter as needed. Sprinkle with garlic salt when they begin to brown.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until nicely browned, stirring occasionally to allow the mushrooms to brown evenly. Total time is approximately 10 minutes.

Add the pasta sauce and tomato paste to the mushrooms, stirring until all mushrooms are evenly coated and pasta sauce and tomato paste are well combined.

While the mushrooms are sautéing, make the tofu ricotta. See recipe below

Now it’s assembly time!

First layer:

Spread ¼ of sauce in bottom of pan.

Top with 4 noodles.

Spoon 1/3 of ricotta on top of noodles, top with 1/3 of cream cheese cubes, and 1/3 of fresh basil leaves.

Cover with ¼ of sauce.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella and parmesan.

Next layer:

Top mozzarella and parmesan layer with 3 (use 4 if you have a total of 12) noodles.

Spoon 1/3 of ricotta on top of noodles, top with 1/3 of cream cheese cubes, and 1/3 of fresh basil leaves.

Cover with ¼ of sauce.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella and parmesan.

Final layer

Top mozzarella and parmesan with 4 noodles.

Spoon 1/3 of ricotta on top of noodles, top with 1/3 of cream cheese cubes, and 1/3 of fresh basil leaves.

Cover with ¼ of sauce.

Sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella and parmesan.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil cut large enough to cover the pan with olive oil. Wrap tightly over lasagna.

Bake covered for 25 minutes.

Open oven and carefully remove foil – save it for covering leftovers!

Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. When the cheeses and sauce are bubbly, and the top has browned it’s ready.

Let cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting. This is the hardest part but especially important. Cooling allows the ingredients to set so you will have those beautiful layers of noodles, sauce, and cheesy filling.

Slice into squares, garnish with sprigs of fresh basil.

Tofu Ricotta Instructions

Drain water from tofu, wrap in a dishtowel, and give a gentle squeeze to remove excess water.

Crumble the tofu into the bowl of food processor. Pulse in 30-second intervals two to three times until the tofu begins to form a smooth consistency.

Press the garlic cloves over the tofu so the garlic juice drips into the bowl as you press, then scrape garlic out of press into processor bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and process, scraping down the sides as needed. This should only take about 1-2 minutes until the tofu ricotta reaches a creamy consistency.

Taste and adjust seasoning to suit your tastebuds, giving another quick pulse if you add a pinch or two of something.