SEATTLE — If you want to make a meal that promises great tasting leftovers, plant-based chef Makini Howell has the perfect recipe for you... lasagna! The recipe is below.
Makini's restaurant Plum Bistro on Capitol Hill in Seattle is still open for take-out. She and her staff are also busy making and delivering free food to the nurses and doctors at Swedish Hospital.
If you would like to help financially support her efforts, please consider buying a Gift Card that will go towards making more meals like these.
Portobello Ragu Lasagna
By Chef Makini Howell
For the Bechamel Sauce
½ cup butter
¼ cup ap flour
2 cup cashew milk (or your favorite plant milk)
½ cup vegan parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic smashed
For the Ragu Sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 med yellow onion, finely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 lb ground plant meat
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
28 oz tomato sauce 1 can
2 cloves garlic, minced
For the filling
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 large portobellos sliced
2 lbs spinach cooked
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 package lasagna noodle
¼ cup grated vegan parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
garlic bread, for serving
Instructions
Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Whisk in milk, ½-cupful at a time. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, whisking often, until the consistency of cream, 8–10 minutes; add parmesan and season with salt. Remove from heat, transfer to a medium bowl, and press plastic wrap directly onto surface; let cool slightly
Make the mushroom and spinach filling
In a saute pan add in olive oil and saute sliced mushroom in batches and remove from pan. Repeat with spinach and set aside.
Make the ragu:
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter to the pot and swirl to evenly coat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until softened and starting to caramelize, about 5 min then add in the sliced cherry tomatoes and minutes.
Add the ground plant meat and cook, stirring to break up the meat, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour in the tomato sauce, reduce the heat to medium, and cook the sauce, stirring, until slightly reduced 6-8 minutes.
Cook the pasta:
To begin with, add water and salt to a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles to the boiling water and let them cook, checking them frequently so that you can take
them off the heat once they're done about 10 minutes. Ensure that the noodle's outer layer is soft while its inner core is just a little bit stiff
Make the Lasagna
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 13x9” baking dish with vegan butter or olive oil
Spread ¾ cup ragu in the prepared baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles spread over a ¼ cup Bechamel sauce, then sprinkle mushrooms, spinach, and a layer of cheese. Repeat for 2-3 more layers, starting with noodles and ending with mozzarella and parmesan
Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake lasagna until bubbling and beginning to brown on top, 50–60 minutes. Let lasagna sit 45 minutes before serving.
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