Vegetable Lasagna

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS
12 whole-grain lasagna noodles
Tomato Sauce (recipe below)
Cashew Cheese (recipe below)
Vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup onioin, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, grated
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or sliced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 quart tomatoes
1 10-oz. package chopped spinach (with water squeezed out)

Cashew Cheese
1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews or raw blanched almonds
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 4-oz jar pimentos (about ½ cup if using bulk)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 pound pound water-pack tofu, drained

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. To make sauce, steam cook veggies, except spinach and tomatoes, in a water over low heat until just tender. Add tomatoes and spinach and simmer for one-half hour.
3. To make cheese sauce, Place water, cashews, and salt in blender. Wiz thoroughly. Add oil slowly until mixture thickens. Add lemon juice, pimiento and seasonings and whiz again.
4. Crumble tofu into a bowl, pour in the cashew cheese and mix.
5. Spray a long casserole with pan spray.
6. Put layer of noodles in pan topping with a layer of tomato sauce, then cashew cheese mixture. Alternate three times ending with tomato sauce and a little cheese mixture drizzled over the top.
7. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan, if desired.
8. Cover pan with parchment paper and foil to seal in steam to cook the noodles.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, uncovering during the last five minutes or so to let the top dry and brown a little.

RECIPE NOTES
You can precook your noodles if you want, but I don’t like handling and tearing cooked noodles. They can be so fragile! This is so much easier.