Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Rolls with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Sometimes it’s hard to get inspired in the kitchen. I can’t tell you how many nights I get home late, and I’m tired and brain-dead and still have more work to do, so I end up scrambling a couple of eggs, wolfing them down in front of my laptop, and calling that dinner. It’s less-than-inspiring blog fodder, of course, which is why the past months have been a little quieter here. When I have found little bursts of free time, I seem to become a couch zombie entranced by the Real Housewives and Teen Mom.

Lately, I’m feeling my desire to find time for the kitchen returning. With my weekly CSA (drink!) and Nor recently giving up dairy, I’ve got a glut of amazing local produce combined with the perfect motivation to come up with nourishing, substantial, delicious recipes that are also dairy-free. I made these for Sunday dinner this past week, and this was the meal that really made me start to feel good in the kitchen again. Instead of trying to slap something together and get back to working or couch-flopping, I put some music on (we just watched True Detective and right now I am LOVING The Handsome Family, the group that sings the theme song), rolled up my sleeves, and had a much-needed and very therapeutic two-hour zone-out while I put it all together.

There are some elements to this dish, but it’s worth the time. There’s creamy, slightly salty cashew ricotta. Peppery, rich basil pesto. Hearty portabello mushrooms and perfectly wilted spinach. And topping it all off, a creamy, earthy sun-dried tomato sauce – the smokiness of sun-dried tomatoes gives amazing depth to vegan food. When all of these flavors are rolled up in al dente lasagna noodles and then baked, you end up with a meal that’s filling but nutritious, and a sit-back-satisfied-in-your-chair kind of tasty. Bonus plan: it makes amazing leftovers to pop in the oven for a quick weekday dinner. If you have an evening with a little bit of time, crank up your iPod and give it a whirl.

Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Rolls with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

2 hours 25 mins

 

Rich, hearty lasagna rolls loaded with cashew ricotta, pesto, spinach and mushrooms, topped with a vegan sundried tomato cream sauce.

Category: Main Dish

Yield: 12 lasagna rolls

Ingredients

Cashew Ricotta

• 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours and drained
• ¾ cup water
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• ½ tsp salt

Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

• ¾ cup raw cashews
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (the dried kind, not the kind packed in oil)
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pesto

• 3 cups lightly packed fresh basil
• 3 cloves garlic
• ⅓ cup pine nuts
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Noodles and Filling

• 12 lasagna noodles
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ large sweet onion, diced
• 3 large portabello mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• Fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

To make the ricotta:

1. Combine drained cashews, water, cider vinegar, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor. Pulse until well-combined but still slighty grainy (like real ricotta). Add an additional tablespoon or two of water if the mixture is too thick (this can depend on how much water the soaking cashews absorbed). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the sun-dried tomato cream sauce:

1. Combine cashews, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a blender. Process until very smooth. Set aside.

To make the pesto:

1. Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice in (guess where!) a blender or food processor. Begin processing and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto is nearly pureed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin it slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the noodles and filling:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Have a 9x13 baking dish handy.
2. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook until al dente (usually about 6 minutes, or 2 minutes less than the cooking time on the box). Drain in a colander and spray lightly with cooking spray or drizzle with a bit of oil to ensure they don't stick together.
3. In the same pot or a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook until browned and releasing their liquid, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and spinach and cook until spinach is wilting, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble and cook:

1. Spread about 1 cup of the sun-dried tomato sauce across the bottom of the baking dish.
2. On a cutting board or work surface, lay each noodle out flat (I work with 2-3 at a time). Spread 2 tablespoons of the cashew ricotta across each noodle, leaving a bit of room at the sides and about ½ inch at the end uncovered. Spread a tablespoon of pesto on top of the ricotta. Spoon some of the mushroom mixture onto each noodle.
3. Roll each noodle up from the bottom as tightly as you can without squeezing out the filling, and place each roll in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until noodles are gone.
4. Pour the rest of the sun-dried tomato sauce on top of the noodles, then top with remaining pesto and pine nuts. Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges are just slightly browned. Top with fresh basil and serve.

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Note: The folks at Mooney Farms sent me a sampling of their Bella Sun Luci tomatoes, which I love, and some of which I used to make the sauce for this recipe. I was not compensated beyond the product itself.

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