Monday, January 3, 2011

15 Minute Tofu-Spinach Lasagna

I love lasagna, but usually it's kind of a pain to make. Not this recipe! This guy literally came together in under 15 minutes (though you do have to bake for about 50). You save some time by soaking your noodles rather than boiling them. Now, this isn't the best lasagna I've ever made, but I thought it was pretty damn good for 15 minutes worth of time.


Ingredients
-8 lasagna noodles
-24 oz jar of marinara
-10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
-1 scallion, diced
-1 package firm tofu
-2 T fresh oregano or basil
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 cup shredded mozzarella (or vegan cheese if you want to make completely vegan)
-juice from one lemon
-salt, pepper, dash of red pepper flakes to taste

Steps
(Preheat oven to 350)
1. Fill a large, tall container with hot water and submerge your noodles in the hot water bath. If your noodles won't fit you can break them in half.
2. Squeeze as much water out of your spinach and tofu as you can. After squeezing your spinach with your hands, I recommend wrapping it in paper towels. For your tofu, I recommend cutting it into 1/4 inch thick slices and wrapping it in a towel. Set something heavy on top of the towel for about 5 minutes to squeeze more water out.
3. Chop your scallion and garlic. 
4. Spray some Pam in a 9X9 or 11X7 baking dish. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan.
5. Crumble your tofu into a large bowl. Add spinach, scallion, garlic, lemon, spices and mix well (I used my hands).

6. Layer 4 noodles on top of marinara, then cover with half the tofu-spinach mixture.

7. Spread a layer of marinara over the tofu-spinach mixture, add remaining 4 noodles, top with remaining tofu-spinach mixture, then finish off with remaining marinara. Top everything with cheese.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
9. After 45 minutes, remove foil and broil for a few minutes to get the top of the cheese brown and bubbly.