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Pasta free lasagna

This lasagna is comprised of several layers: Garlicky polenta, smoky eggplant and mushrooms with Italian sausage seasonings, A medley of sautèed tomatoes, zucchini, spinach, onion and oregano, A lemony, bean ricotta and then topped with a spicy, marinara! This particular recipe is somewhat time consuming but it makes a beautiful lasagna fit for a special family dinner.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Servings: 6
Author: Snap Pea Sheep
Cost: 8

Equipment

  • Smoking Gun
  • Covered, deep lasagna pan

Ingredients

Spicy Marinara Sauce

  • 1 18.3 Jar whole tomatoes (Plus the liquid) I use Jovial tomatoes from a glass jar
  • 1 Tbsp Calabrian Chili paste I use Trader Joes's
  • 1 Tbsp Garlic Puree
  • 1/2 Large sweet onion Diced fine
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1/4 Tsp Dried Basil or 3 Tbsp fresh
  • 1/2 Tsp Himalayan Salt
  • 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg May sub Coriander
  • 1/2 Cup Vegan Parmigiano - optional I use Follow Your Heart brand
  • 1 Roasted Red Bell pepper Optional. I use Divina peppers from a jar.
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1 Tbsp Finely crushed almonds - optional
  • 1 Tsp Course ground black pepper - optiona

Smoked eggplant and mushroom Italian sausage

  • 2 Japanese Eggplants Or 1 globe eggplant
  • 4 Tbsp Hickory Smoked salt For curing eggplant - see notes
  • 6 Oz Baby portobello mushrooms
  • 1 Tsp Black pepper
  • 1 Tsp Hickory Smoked salt
  • 5 Cloves Crushed garlic
  • 2 Tbsp Calabrian Chili paste
  • 1/2 Tsp Fennel seed
  • 1/2 Tsp Fresh oregano
  • 2 Tbsp Hickory Flavored Liquid Smoke Optional - see notes
  • 2 Tbsp Water

Bean Ricotta

  • 1 Can Cannelinni beans Or silky tofu
  • 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1/2 Tsp Crushed garlic
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
  • 3 Tbsp Plant milk or unsweetened yogurt I use So Delicious unsweetened coconut yogurt

Sauteed Vegetables

  • 2 Zucchini
  • 6 Oz Fresh spinach
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh, chopped, fresh oregano
  • 1/2 Sweet onion
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 18oz jar Whole, peeled tomatoes I use Jovial whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 Jar Roasted red bell peppers

Garlicky Polenta

  • 1 Cup Finely ground polenta
  • 3 Cups Water
  • 1/2 Tsp Himalayan Salt

Instructions

  • Start with the eggplant sausage as it needs time to sweat out the bitterness.
  • Make your marinara sauce and set aside, or use store bought.
  • Prepare Polenta per package instructions. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Marinara sauce

  • Peel the onion and dice half into a 1/2" dice.
  • Dice the red pepper into a 1/2" dice.
  • Place all sauce ingredients (except fresh basil) into a large sauce pan. Use a double boiler if you have one.
  • Bring the sauce to a slight boil then turn down to a simmer. Stir to avoid sticking.
  • Simmer the sauce until the onions are soft and translucent.
  • An optional step is to blend the sauce for 4 minutes on low if you want a smooth sauce.
  • If using, add freshly chopped basil to the final dish and not the sauce.
  • Pour into a bowl to be used for your recipe or place in a jar and keep for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Smoked eggplant and mushroom Italian sausage

  • Peel eggplants. If using the Japanese eggplants (long and skinny), slice into 1" medallions. If using a large globe eggplant, slice lengthwise into "steaks".
  • Apply hickory salt liberally to the eggplant slices and set aside to sweat the eggplant for about 20 minutes.
  • Clean and slice mushrooms into thick slices (about 1/2").
  • Rinse the salt from the eggplant.
  • Sautè the eggplant in scant amount of water on medium heat. Brown on both sides until soft and tender but not mushy. About 10 minutes. Set aside to layer.
  • Sautè the mushrooms in scant amount of water on medium heat until they start to wilt.
  • Combine garlic, calabrian chili, oregano, fennel seed, hickory salt and pepper. If you are not using a smoking gun, you may want to add the Liquid Smoke to this mixture.
    Brush mixture onto eggplant slices. Apply any left over mixture to the mushrooms.
  • Place mushrooms and eggplant in a bag and use smoking gun to impart additional hickory flavor. If you don't have a smoking gun, disregard this step and use the hickory flavored Liquid Smoke.

Prepare Vegetables

  • Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/4" slices.
  • Lightly sautè zucchini and set aside.
  • Rinse spinach.Roughly chop the spinach and set aside.
  • Slice fennel into thin 1/4 slices.
  • Slice onion into thin slices.
  • Peel and mince garlic
  • Lightly sautè onion, garlic and fennel together until fennel starts to turn translucent. Add in spinach, oregano, salt and pepper
  • Place tomatoes in a colander to remove excess tomato puree. Add the tomato puree to your marinara sauce.

Bean Ricotta

  • Mash beans with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Layering

  • Spread half of the polenta into an even layer on the bottom of a deep dish baking pan.
  • Place a layer of roasted, red pepper on top of the polenta.
  • Layer on the tomatoes, evenly covering the red pepper.
  • Top the tomatoes with the spinach mixture forming another even layer.
  • Top the spinach with the sauteed zucchini.
  • Spread the remaining polenta over the zucchini.
  • Drop spoonfuls of the bean ricotta on top of the polenta and carefully spread the mixture as evenly as possible.
  • place mushrooms on top of the polenta as evenly as possible and finish with the eggplant slices.
  • Top eggplant with 1 cup of marinara sauce.
  • Bake in a covered pan at 375 ° for 1 hour. If you intend to use aluminum foil, opt for parchment paper instead.
  • Serve with hot marinara sauce and a sprinkle of vegan Parmigiano cheese.

Notes

Used logo
This is a Snap Pea Sheep Recipe
I sometimes prefer oregano to basil and I prefer fresh basil to dried. If fresh basil is not available, use dried or fresh oregano. If using fresh oregano, 1 Tbsp is sufficient for this recipe.
Like most vegan cheeses, Follow Your Heart has added oil. If you are 100% no oil, use  crushed almonds in place of the cheese. I like a little coarse ground pepper as well. 
I use a smoking gun to impart a little additional smoky flavor to the eggplant and mushrooms. Personally I use 50-50 hickory and cherry wood chips but hickory is fine too. Place in a zip lock bag and fill your bag with smoke and seal. The smoke will dissipate in about 15 minutes. I use the smoker a few inches from my stove top downdraft, otherwise I go outside.
 The hickory salt may be enough by itself but is VERY salty and you may easily over salt in the attempt to get that hickory flavor. Liquid Smoke appears to be a vegan product and I use it sparingly in favor of the smoking gun.
This is a LONG version of lasagna, designed to be pretty as well as delicious. It is very time consuming.  The vegetables are lightly sauteèd to leech out the juices and prevent having a soggy lasagna.
You can save time by incorporating one or all of these tips:
Use a prepared marinara sauce.
Cut eggplant into medallions and prepare the eggplant and mushrooms together.
Sautè all of your green and white vegetables together.
Chop your red pepper and tomatoes together. 
Use store bought prepared polenta. 
Use your outdoor grill and grill your vegetables with some hickory chips in your smoke box.