Celebration of eggplant season continues with this delicious lasagna. Layers of delicious cheesiness, soft perfectly salted eggplant, and beautiful ribbons of chard make this a summer delight. This makes 8-10 servings making it perfect for a family dinner or just for one if you love lasagna. We also love to freeze the leftovers of this meal. What’s better when you have nothing left to eat than looking into your freezer and seeing some home-made lasagna all ready for you to bake?
Serves: 8-10
Time: 2hr 15min; 1.5 hours is inactive
Ingredients:
2 eggplants (1.5lb)
Salt
Olive oil
1 block of firm tofu, pressed
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp veggie bouillon (We like Better than Bouillon)
1/2 cup hot water
1 bunch chard
26 oz jar tomato sauce (Feel free to use homemade or store-bought)
1 batch cashew cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles (gluten-free option)
Cut eggplant into 3/4 inch cubes. Salt them generously and leave to drain in a strainer over the sink for at least half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Wrap the eggplant in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove any surface moisture and some of the salt. Toss the eggplant in olive oil on a cookie sheet and roast about 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. The eggplant should be soft but not disintegration.
Put a 4-6 quart pot of water on the stove to boil. Add salt generously, it should be similar to seawater.
Press the tofu between two layers of kitchen towel with a weight (like a cast iron pan) for about 10 minutes. Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Crumble the tofu into the hot pan and scramble about 10 minutes until it is starting to color. Add 1/2 tsp salt and the cornstarch to the tofu and cook an additional 5 minutes until you get some crispy bits. Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water and add to the tofu. The water should boil immediately. Mix the tofu until the water has mostly boiled off, about 3 minutes.
Make cashew cheese if you have not already done so.
Boil the pasta in the salted water according to the instructions on the box.
Cut the chard into ribbons.
To layer the lasagna, start with tomato sauce on the bottom, then layer noodles, eggplant, cheese, chard, tomato sauce, noodles, tofu, cheese, chard, tomato sauce, and repeat until you have used all the ingredients. I like to end with a layer of tomato and cheese on top of the final layer of noodles. Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes or as long as the box of noodles says.
If you plan to freeze, wait until it has cooled completely. Freeze within 24 hours of baking, good for about 5 days after thawing.
