Thanksgiving Alternatives: Vegan Dishes with Brandon
By: Laura Hartog
Updated: November 20, 2012
The following recipes are from Brandon, chef at the Aardvark Kafe.
Tofu Ricotta Recipe
Preheat over to 425.
3 lbs of FIRM TOFU
Slice tofu into 1/4 inch pieces and press water out with paper towels or kitchen towel
In mixing bowl, squeeze tofu with your hands to break apart. This is where you can see the beginning of the "ricotta" like consistency taking form.
Add the following ingredients into mixing bowl.
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup of Nutritional Yeast (found at Wegmans - Bulk Section)
1/4 cup of dried basil (or chop fresh basil)
1/4 cup of oregano
1/4 cup of parsley
1 TBSP of Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste. I use approximately 1/4 tsp of pepper and close to a tsp of salt. Start with 1/4 tsp of each and taste. Add more salt if you desire. Red Pepper flakes would also taste great if you enjoy a little spice!
Mix all ingredients with a rubber spatula. Press down the tofu as you mix the spices in.
Layering Linsagna
In a deep pan, put a layer of sauce. In this recipe I've been using Wegman's Tomato Basil Sauce. It tastes great, it's vegan and only $0.99.
Layer the uncooked linguine to cover the sauce. Make sure you don't put too much down. No more than 2 linguine deep.
Grab a handful of the tofu mixture at a time and flatten in your palms and then put the tofu ricotta on top of the linguine. 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick. Press down to even out.
Cover with a layer of raw baby spinach
Put a thick layer of sauce on top of spinach.
Layer linguine. Layer spinach. Layer sauce. Layer Linguine. Thick layer of sauce.
Top with Nutritional Yeast & Cover with foil.
Bake for 60-80 minutes depending on your oven and type of pan you use. To check if the Linsagna is done, cut in the opposite direction that the linguine is pointing, if it's easy to cut, it's cooked, if not, cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. It's difficult for me to say what the exact cooking time is because I'm using a very large gas pizza oven that has different temperatures in each corner. If you feel more comfortable cooking this as you would a traditional lasagna (with raw lasagna strips), try it the way you're used to.
The longer it sits before you eat, the better. Don't forget to make enough so you have some to reheat the next day, it always tastes better!
